Love Knows
by harrypotter2254
Summary: Falling for each other is something that they can't accept. Caring for each other is something that they can't understand. But love is something that they can't ignore. They don't know what they feel for each other. But even though they don't know, love knows.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

**Clove**

I woke up in the early hours of the morning only to find out that I was too excited to go back to sleep. Today will be my first training as a career tribute. I was very happy when I passed my test to be trained as a career tribute. I will finally get the chance to enhance my skills and to learn how to use weapons that I'm not yet familiar with. It will also be an opportunity to show off to everyone, especially to my parents.

My dad became the victor of The Hunger Games during his time and he's really looking forward to me becoming the same as him. On the other hand, my mom didn't get to participate in the games due to physical health problems when she finally came of age (18) and was planning to volunteer during that year. Because of that, she's been encouraging me to do what she had not done. What my parents have said didn't trouble me at all. I really want to participate in the games and win. I will become a victor just like my father and accomplish what my mother didn't. I will bring pride and honor to my district.

Two hours have passed and I'm in the dining room with my parents. They're also looking forward to this day.

"Clove," my mother said. "Today will be your first training as a career tribute. Do your best and impress everyone." She doesn't need to tell me these things. I will definitely do my best and impress everyone.

"I will mom," I said. "Of course I will."

"Make us proud Clove," my father said.

"I will dad," I said. "You know I will."

My parents drive me to the Academy and said goodbye as I stepped outside our car. I quickly look for the Training Center. As I stepped inside the Training Center, the familiar sound of people doing their training greets my ears. I was watching them do their training when a boy, probably a year older than me, caught my attention. He is tall, muscular, handsome and blonde. He also looks very strong. He cuts the dummy's head off with ease using his sword. He cuts all of the remaining body parts of the dummy as well. But he probably sensed that someone has been looking at him because he turned his head on my direction. He gave me a cocky grin and I glare at him before he gets back to his training.

Minutes later and the trainer has arrived. Everyone stopped training at once and turned to face him.

"Good morning everyone. Before you get back to your training, I would like you to meet Clove, our newest member," the trainer said coldly. "Come here Clove and show us what you've got" I quickly come in front with everyone watching me.

"Hello everyone. I'm Clove and I'm skilled with knives," I said confidently. I saw the blonde boy looking at me lazily.

"Then show us how skilled you are to be able to get in here," the trainer said, again with his cold voice. His words pissed me off, especially with his tone. I'm thinking of grabbing some knives and use him as my target.

"Ok," I said confidently. I grabbed some knives and aim at my targets on the wall, too bad it wasn't that cold, boastful trainer. I send three knives one after the other at three different targets and not one of them missed. I turned to look at everyone and was glad to see them pleased with what I did.

"Not bad," the trainer said coldly once again. What is wrong with him? Is he doing this on purpose? "By the way, I'm Allan." What a very ugly name, same as him. "Nice to meet you, Clove."

"_Liar,"_ I said inside my head. I gave him an untruthful smile before he turns away and I proceed with my training.

I trained with the knives even though I know that I'm already skilled at it. It's just to show to that Allan what I'm capable of with knives. I was busy throwing knives when the blonde boy suddenly came towards me.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said too.

"You're really good with knives. Who taught you to throw knives like that?"

"My father, ever since I was little."

"I can't tell. You're still little, "he said, laughing. Well, he's telling the truth, but still.

"You'll regret calling me little when this knife is already struck in your heart," I said menacingly. I glare at him for a second and turn away from him when he said, "By the way, it's been nice meeting you little one." I walked away from him without another word and train with the spear.

**Cato**

I'm training as usual when I saw Clove, the little girl from yesterday, training with the sword. I sigh as I see her not even able to hold the sword properly. I came towards her.

"Grip it tightly or it'll slip right through your hand," I said to her. She turned to me. I grabbed her hand with the sword and did what's right. The dummy's head ended up rolling on the floor. "That's the right way."

"I'm not an idiot. I know how to handle a sword," she said, sounding annoyed.

"Yes, you're gifted with knives, but with swords, I'm guessing you're not," I said teasingly.

"Ok. I acknowledge the fact that you're good with swords and I'm not. Happy?"

"I'm Cato," I said. "You're Clove, right?"

"Right. I got to go."

"Where?"

"As far away from you as possible," she said, walking away. And that is how Clove and I got acquainted.

I've been training lately at night when I heard someone come inside. I turned and saw Clove already grabbing some knives and aiming at her targets.

"Why did you come here? It's already late at night," I said loudly to her.

"I can't sleep at home so I decided not to waste my time there and come here instead to train," she said. "Besides, I can come here anytime I want. So stop acting as if you own this place or something." She's really fierce even though she's small. Her knives then went flying through the targets and not one of them missed.

"You're really good," I said to her. "You know what? With skills like that, you can really qualify for the games. Are you planning to volunteer?"

"Isn't that asking the obvious? What are you expecting? Of course I will. But only when I'm already 18," she said. "I'll be a victor just like my dad and accomplish what my mom didn't."

"I see," I said. And I smiled at her. Surprisingly, she smiled back.

**Clove**

Two years have passed and here I am, sitting with my back on the wall of the training center with Cato. We are staring at the remaining pieces of the dummies scattered on the floor. We have been training from morning until night and here we are, very tired of what we have done.

"Cato, do you think either of the two tributes our district has sent this year will win?" I asked.

"No, I don't," he answered. "They're not as good as you and me."

"Really?"

"Really. Wait until next year," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him though I think I already know the answer.

"I will volunteer next year and win," he said determinedly. "I will be the victor and bring pride and honor to our district."

"Are you sure Cato?" I asked, a little worried. I don't know why I'm worried. I think it's because we've been friends after all, but still. He nodded. "Cato, you're only 16 next year."

"I know Clove. But I know that I can do it. I know that I can win. Don't you trust me?"

"I do. I do trust you. And the year after you became a victor I will be as well," I said to hide away my worries.

"Good," he said. "Come on, it's getting really late." We both stand up getting ready to leave. "Clove, do you want me to accompany you to your house?" I was startled.

"What do you think of me? A kid? I can take care of myself," I said, quite annoyed.

"Are you sure? It's really dark," he sounds worried, like he cares for me. "Besides, girls shouldn't be allowed on their own especially at night."

"Do I look like most girls? I can handle it."

**Cato**

I went inside my room as I got into our house. I think about what happened earlier. I ended up accompanying Clove to her house even though she's been really against it. I don't know why but I just want to see her got home safely, that's all. I don't know why I care so much about her when I shouldn't care at all.

"No! I don't care about her," I said to myself. Then why do I have to tell her those things, which sounded that I really cared? Well, maybe I really do.

"No! I don't," I said to myself again. But wasn't she worried about me when I told her that I would volunteer next year. She sounded worried. Is it possible that she cares for me?

"No!" I said to myself once again. She's Clove. What am I thinking?

**Clove**

I'm lying on my bed but I'm not yet asleep. I'm still thinking about the events earlier. Why did Cato have to accompany me here? He has never done that before, to me and to anyone. He has always been a bully in the Academy. Sometimes he even bullies me. But what he did earlier was strange, what he said earlier was strange and how he acted earlier was strange. He acted as if he cares for me, as if he's worried about me, and maybe that is why he accompanied me here.

"No!" I said to myself. Cato is the one who we're talking about here. He is someone who doesn't care about anyone. He is someone who I think doesn't have feelings. He's Cato. What am I thinking?


	2. Strange Feelings at The Reaping

**Chapter 2: Strange Feelings at The Reaping**

**The night before The Reaping…**

**Clove**

I was getting ready to attend a party at Cato's house. He wants to have a celebration the night before he volunteers at The Reaping. The Reaping will be held tomorrow and he was so excited about this. I know I should be too, for him, because I trust him, because I know that he can win, but I can't help but worry about him. Right now I'm feeling the same way I did that night, when we were talking at the training center. What if he didn't make it? What if he didn't win? What if he didn't survive the games? He was only 16 after all. But what I don't understand is why I am feeling this way. He's nothing more than a friend, a co-trainee, to me. I never worried for someone like this before for all of my life.

I ended up my thoughts as I look at myself in the mirror. I'm wearing a black dress that falls on my knees and black heels, about 5 inches. I'm wearing my hair down with a silver hairclip. I'm also wearing silver jewelries to match my black outfit. I don't usually wear party clothes because I don't usually go to parties. I'm not really into parties. I'll just go to Cato's party because of him, because he's the host. It's not because I want to attract him or impress him or anything but because he's expecting me to show up. Besides, my two best friends, Helen and Rina, are going there too and I was forced to join them. I can't believe I'm looking at myself right now. I must admit that I'm stunningly pretty tonight. I never considered myself pretty until now.

As I went downstairs, my mom and dad were like stunned by me.

"Clove, is that you?" my mom asked, wonderstruck.

"Yes, mom," I said bashfully.

"You look beautiful darling," my dad said to me.

"Thank you dad," I said.

And the three of us stepped inside our car on the way to Cato's house. We reached our destination after 15 minutes. Cato's house is very large but no larger than mine. It's not a surprise actually, knowing that they're really wealthy. My parents said goodbye to me as I stepped outside our car. I met Rina outside waiting for me. She looks sad. Helen is nowhere to be found. We went inside together. There are many people inside already.

"Where's Helen? She should be here for this," I asked Rina curiously. Helen will also volunteer at The Reaping tomorrow.

"Helen had a serious leg injury this morning," she answered sadly. I was shocked.

"She had an accident?"

"Yes and it's really serious. It looks like she'll lose her chance to be in the games. This is her last year, remember? How disappointing, she's really looking forward to it. Too bad for her."

I can't help but feel sorry for Helen. This year is her last chance. But I came to think of it, I wasn't as concerned for her as I was for Cato, even though I know that she, too, might die in the games. Is it possible that Cato is more important to me? That Cato matters more to me? No. No way.

"It looks like we just have to depend on who will be picked tomorrow," Rina said.

"Yes. It looks like it," I said.

"Anyway, you really look beautiful tonight, Clove."

"Thank you. You really look beautiful too," I said to her and we smiled at each other.

**Cato**

I saw Clove with her friend. They were talking quietly as they entered my party. I wonder what's wrong with them. Clove really looks beautiful tonight. I've never seen her like that before. She's the prettiest one here so far. Her friend is nothing compared to her. Clove suddenly turns in my direction and spotted me. I think she was about to come towards me when a boy my age blocked her way. They began talking. What is her relationship with that guy? They seem so close. I made my way towards them.

"Hey Clove," I said loudly. They all looked at me.

"Hey Cato," she said. "What's up?"

"Let's talk."I said as I grabbed her hand.

"Let's just talk later Cato. I just met my old friend." She said as she retrieved her hand from me. I looked at the boy standing beside her. He's tall and thin and looks really weak.

"Hello Cato. I'm Paul. Nice to meet you," he said as he held out his hand to shake mine. I just ignored him.

"Come with me Clove," I said as I grabbed her hand once again and drag her away from that Paul.

"What? Cato, I told you that we'll talk later right? What is wrong with you? " Clove said loudly. I stopped walking when someone suddenly spoke behind us.

"Let go of her." It was Paul. "You're hurting her," he said. "Can't you just leave us alone?" Who is he to order me around? Does he know who I am? Does he know where he is?

"Are you ordering me around?" I said as I let go of Clove's hand. I was so angry at Paul I think I could split his head into two. "Do you know where you are? You're in my house. You're in my party. So don't you dare tell me what to do." I was really raging inside.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Clove shouted at us.

"Clove, I'll just go. It seems like I wasn't welcome here," he said to Clove. "See you." And after that he walks away without another word. Clove glared at me and then walked away without another word with her friend.

**Clove**

"What is wrong with him?" I asked angrily to Rina as we find an empty table. I don't know why Cato acted that way in front of Paul. I've never seen him so angry before.

"For all I know, Clove, he was jealous," she answered as she smiled at me.

"Jealous?"

"Yes. He got jealous when he saw you flirting around with Paul."

"I'm not flirting around with Paul. We were just talking. What did you expect? We haven't seen each other for a long time."

"Either way, Cato was jealous earlier," Rina said with another smile on her face.

"Why should he? Oh! I hate him. I really hate him."

"Clove, the more you hate, the more you love, don't forget that."

"Oh! Shut up!" I said angrily. But then, if Rina was right, and Cato really was jealous, why should he? We don't have a very special relationship anyway so why should he be jealous? Is it possible that he likes me more than a friend? Did he develop his feelings for me? No. I can't be serious.

"Clove." I was startled when someone suddenly spoke. I ended up my thoughts and looked up to see who the speaker was. It was Cato. "Can we talk now?" he asked me. I turned to Rina and she gave me an encouraging smile.

"Ok," I replied. I followed him to an empty table and sat there with him.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just couldn't control myself. The way he talked was as if he owned you or something," Cato said to me.

"And what is it to you? Why did you act that way in front of him?" I asked him, eager for an honest answer.

"I just didn't like the way he talked. He acts as if he owns this house, as if he owns this party, as if he owns you, as if he owns everything," Cato said fiercely. "He doesn't have the right to order me around, Clove. This is my house. This is my party."

"I understand Cato and I'm sorry about him." He looked me in the eye and I can see myself in those beautiful eyes. I looked away from him before I melt with his gaze.

"Clove, what is your relationship with him?" Cato suddenly asked. I was startled by his question. Why would he ask me something like this?

"He was my childhood playmate. We also used to train together but we were separated when I was chosen to be trained as a career tribute and he wasn't."

"And you felt bad when you have to separate?" Why is he asking me these questions?

"Of course. We were friends."

"I see," he said. "Wish me luck tomorrow before The Reaping, ok?" I nodded and we smiled at each other. So far, his smile is one of the things that makes my day bright.

**Before The Reaping…**

**Cato**

Today is Reaping Day and I was outside our Academy, sitting on one of the benches, waiting for Clove. I want to see her before everything else, before the reaping, the capitol, and especially the games. I don't know why but I just want to see her face. I don't know why I am feeling this way. Who is she? She's just a friend and nothing more. But still, I can't explain why I got mad last night. I think I just got jealous seeing her with that Paul. No, I wasn't jealous. Why should I? Besides, there's no use thinking about these things because she likes that Paul and there's nothing I can do about it. They will probably enjoy spending time with each other while I'm away. But why am I so bitter?

I ended up my thoughts and checked my watch. What's taking her so long? And then I felt someone placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked around and saw Clove.

"Hey," she said cheerfully. She looks so cute with her black jeans and black sleeveless with her black hair tied up in a ponytail. She's also wearing her best smile. "You look very handsome today." Her words cheered me up.

"I'm always handsome," I said boastfully. "That's why girls have been courting me to be their boyfriend." Her smile faded a little. "Anyway, you're not so bad yourself, Clove." I added to cheer her up. But her smile wasn't to be seen right now. I felt a little guilty.

"Good luck Cato. I hope you win," she said quietly and walked away from me. I quickly followed her and grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry Clove. I didn't mean to offend you or anything," I said to her. She looked me in the eye and I felt this thing inside me which I know doesn't have anything to do with the games or the reaping. A cold voice suddenly broke us apart.

"Hey Clove. Thank God I found you," it was Allan, our trainer, who spoke.

"And what do you want from me?" Clove said in a very irritated voice as if nothing happened between the two of us.

"Helen was your friend, right? How is she?" Allan asked.

"She has a serious injury. She won't be able to volunteer or to participate," Clove said.

"Then we'll just depend on the person who will be picked," Allan said. He turned to me. "And Cato, make sure to do your best during the games, ok? Show them who's boss." I nodded and Allan walked away. I turned to face Clove and said "I'll be seeing you soon." And she, too, walked away from me without another word.

**Clove**

I walked away from him without another word. What is wrong with me? All I wanted was to wish him luck and then I began thinking about him dying, in the games. He said he'll be seeing me soon, but will he? Why am I feeling this way? All because of him. How thick I am to think that he has feelings for me after last night. He will never like me. There are many girls who wanted him that he can choose from. I'm not that pretty. Anyway, what do I care? But still, I don't want him to die and I don't know why.

**The Reaping…**

**Clove**

People thronged in front of the stage where the tributes will be chosen later. There were two large glass containers where our names were placed: one for the boys and one for the girls. Our escort, Archie, finally arrived and greeted us with his capitol accent.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor. Now, before we begin, we have a very special film, brought to you all the way from the capitol." I didn't pay attention to the special film. What I'm really looking forward to is the tributes. Finally, the special film was over.

"Now, the time has come for us to select one courageous young man and woman for the honor of representing District 2 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games," Archie said. "As usual, boys first." In our district, boys always come first during The Reaping. Archie made his way to the glass container where the boys' names were placed. Before he even placed a finger inside it, a loud voice echoed from behind.

"My name is Cato and I volunteer." A tremendous applause followed Cato's voice.

"I believe we have a volunteer," Archie said. Cato made his way onto the stage and another round of tremendous applause followed. "And now, for the girls," Archie bellowed. He made his way to the glass container where the girls' names were placed. No one volunteered so he picked one of them, then he shouted. "Clove."

I was shocked when I heard my name came out from Archie's mouth. I'm not expecting this. Another tremendous applause broke off as I made my way onto the stage. I don't know what's wrong with me. I should be happy. I will finally have a chance to prove myself and bring pride and honor to my district. But something is holding me back. I didn't let the guards help me to get onto the stage. I don't want to look weak. I confidently stand beside Archie and gave everyone a dangerous smile that said quite plainly that I will be the victor.

"So here they are, our tributes from District 2, Cato and Clove," Archie announced. "Well, come on you two, shake your hands." I saw Cato holding out his hand to shake mine. I hold out my hand too and we shake each other's hands. "Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor."

After that, Archie led us away from here and escorted us in two different rooms to have one last meeting with our friends or relatives. I waited inside and examined the room. The door then opened and in came a guard and my mother and father.

"You have three minutes," the guard said as he closed the door and left.

My mother hugged me at once and said as she let go of me. "You're stronger than they are, Clove. You just have to show them how good you are. Show them who's boss, alright?"

I nodded and said "Alright, mom."

"This is the time to prove yourself, Clove. This is your chance to be a victor just like me and bring pride and honor to our district and to our family," my father said.

"I know, dad," I said determinedly. "And I won't blow this chance away."

"Make sure to do your best and don't let anybody get in your way, even Cato," my father said.

"What do you mean dad?" I asked.

"We're not dumb Clove," it was my mother who answered me. "We know you have developed your feelings for that boy."

"I haven't. He's nothing more than a friend to me. And now, he's my enemy," I said angrily. And here I go again, fighting with myself about my feelings for him. But now, I have decided that I don't have any, that I didn't have any. He is going to die and I will kill him myself. "And I will definitely kill him when the time came, as well as anybody who tries to get in my way."

"Just don't let your feelings and emotions overcome you, Clove," my mother said strictly. "The Hunger Games is not a place for love, remember that. Yes, the two of you will be allies at first but when the time came and it's only the two of you standing, don't hesitate. Because I'm not losing my only daughter to the capitol."

"I understand, mom," I said. And the guard bursts in and led my parents outside, away from me.

My parents were right. I need to be the victor and I will be. No one can take victory away from me. They can try if they want, but I will never give in. I will kill all of them and win. I will win this thing in any way that I can. And Cato will die by my hands. Yes, I will kill him. As of this moment, I don't know him anymore. He's my enemy now, and enemies must die, all of them.


	3. Tension In The Train

**Chapter 3: Tension In The Train**

**Cato**

Why is this happening? Is this fate? Clove and I shouldn't be in the games at the same time. Because we will end up killing each other. I don't want that to happen. I don't want our friendship to end that way. I don't want to lose the only person who accepted me as a friend, and by my own hands. Because I will definitely kill her. I will definitely kill everyone. I will be the victor no matter what it takes, even if it means tearing Clove and I apart.

I met up with Clove and our escort, Archie. Clove is very quiet while Archie is so excited to lead us to the carriage, to the train and to the capitol. Maybe Clove wasn't expecting what happened earlier at The Reaping as well. She wasn't expecting her name to be called. She wasn't expecting us to be in the games at the same time.

Finally, we have arrived inside the carriage that will take us to the train. Clove and I sat on opposite sides of Archie.

"It seems like the two of you are very tough," Archie said with his irritating accent. "Which is definitely not a surprise since you're from District 2, of course. So, do you two know each other?" I was about to answer when Clove spoke first.

"No, we don't," she said stiffly. I was startled by what she said.

"Clove…," I began but Archie butted in.

"But it is possible that you have trained together, right?"

"Yes, we have trained together," Clove said.

"So there is a possibility that you two are friends."

"No, we're not friends," Clove said stiffly again. What is the matter with her, denying our friendship to someone? "And as I've said, we don't know each other." This is really getting out of line.

"Clove, what is the matter with you?" I said loudly. "What are you saying?" I turned to Archie. "To clarify things here, we do know each other and we're friends. And I don't know what is wrong with her, to deny all of these facts."

"Cato, ever since our names were called earlier at The Reaping, we don't know each other anymore," Clove said stiffly once again without even looking at me. "We're not friends but enemies starting from that time, and you should know that by now." And then I came to face the truth. What she said was right. We don't have any connection with each other anymore.

"Ok, I understand," I said to her. "So you better watch your back during the games because I might sneak up on you anytime and kill you right before your eyes." I said menacingly. But of course she won't give in without a fight.

"Like I will allow that to happen," she said, now looking at me dangerously. "Before you even try to kill me, you're already on the floor screaming for mercy."

"Oh, really?" I said teasingly.

"Really."

"Ok, calm down, both of you," Archie said, looking a little bit scared. "You're not yet in the arena." And she glared at me as I gave her a cocky grin before turning away from each other. Somehow, that brings back memories from our first meeting.

**Clove**

It looks like Cato and I will really end up killing each other. I know that it will be hard for me to kill him but I also know that I have to. I have to win and to do that I have to kill even him. That's why I want to forget him completely if possible because killing a stranger will be so much easier than killing a friend. But why am I thinking about these things again? We don't know each other anymore. We're not friends but enemies now. I should think about different ways to kill him instead.

Finally, we have arrived in the train. I am very happy to be in this train knowing that I'm already a tribute representing our district and a soon to be victor of The 74th Annual Hunger Games. Cato and I sat on one of the couches and Archie sat on another couch facing us.

"As you see, this is one of the wonderful things about this opportunity because even though you're here and even though it's just for a little while, you get to enjoy all of this," Archie said. I think he's talking about the refreshments here. Yes, they look pretty appealing but for me, and for anybody from our district, I suppose, this is nothing new. I think this is for the poorer districts who have never tasted anything so wonderful probably their whole life.

"I'll just go and get your mentors to give you some advices, ok?" Archie said as he stood up. "And don't you dare try to kill each other while I'm away." He gave us one last look and walked away to find our mentors. I was a bit irritated by the way he sounded. He sounded like a parent talking to his or her children. I'm not a child any longer.

"Clove, let's be allies at first," Cato suddenly said. "Your skills might really help the career pack, you know."

"Considering how much you needed my help, ok," I said teasingly. Cato just laughed at me. "Anyway, our mentors will probably be Brutus and Enobaria, right?" I looked at Cato and he nodded. I noticed that he looks pained and hurt. I wonder why. "It'll be really good, having them as our mentors, knowing how good they performed during their time in the games and having been crowned as victors." Cato gave me a weak smile and nodded. I wonder what's wrong with him. We stayed quiet for a while until footsteps were heard and three people made their way towards us. One of them was Archie and the two others were unmistakably our mentors, Brutus and Enobaria. They sat on the other couch facing us.

"So, for now, I think it is best for us to watch The Reaping of the other districts, for the two of you to know who your enemies are," it was Brutus who spoke.

Minutes later and here we are, watching the recording of The Reaping of the other districts. The tributes from District 1 were called Marvel and Glimmer. These two will probably be our allies in the games. The tributes from District 3, however, do not look like a threat to me. The tributes from District 4 as well, but of course they will probably join the career pack too. The female tribute from District 5 really looks like a fox, with her red hair and all. I didn't pay much attention to The Reaping of the lower districts, though the male tribute from District 10 looks very funny with his crippled foot, how is he going to survive the games when he's limping like that? The male tribute from District 11, however, looks strong, with his huge stature and dangerous looks. I exchanged looks with Cato and I know that he also see this tribute as a threat. The female tribute, on the other hand, is small and looks as if she couldn't hurt a fly. In District 12, a small girl, probably only 12 years old, was chosen, but another girl, probably her older sister, volunteered to take her place. For all I know, she was District 12's very first volunteer and she'll be well-known for that. She is so dead.

After that, we had our lunch. We talked as we ate. Enobaria finally confirmed that she will mentor me and Brutus will take care of Cato.

"So Clove, make sure to do your best in the arena, ok?" Enobaria said to me. "Don't hesitate to kill everyone on your way to becoming a victor, on your way to victory."

"I will definitely kill everyone," I said determinedly. "I will rip their throats open just like what you did, Enobaria."

"That's the spirit," Enobaria said to me. I turned to Cato, glaring at him, but he didn't even look at me.

"I'm not very hungry," he said as he stood up and walked away from us.

"What is wrong with that boy?" Brutus asked. "He's also like that when we entered the room earlier, before we watched The Reaping of the other districts."

"They probably had another lovers' quarrel before we came in," Archie said, looking at my direction. Brutus and Enobaria both looked at me too. "They were also like that when we were in the carriage."

"For your information, Archie, we're not lovers," I said angrily. But he's still looking at me questioningly.

"If you're not, then good, because The Hunger Games is not a place for love," Enobaria inquired.

"I know," I said. "I'll just go and talk to him." I stood up and walked away from them to look for Cato. Where did he go? I searched practically the whole train when I found him, sitting with his back on the wall of one of the rooms near the end of the train. I sat there beside him.

"What do you think you were doing, walking out just like that?" I asked him.

"I just couldn't stand sharing the same room with Enobaria," he said softly.

"But why? She seems nice. And as I've said, it'll be really good, having her and Brutus as our mentors, knowing how good they performed during their time in the games…,"

"Yes, good enough to take my uncle's life away," Cato interrupted.

"Cato…," I began.

"Do you know that male tribute who had his throat ripped open by Enobaria?" Cato interrupted once again. "That was my uncle. The two of them are the only ones that are left in the arena at that time and Enobaria killed him. I was only four years old when I watched that but I know what happened. I also know that what Enobaria did was only a part of the games, but I still can't stand sharing a room with her knowing that she's the reason why my uncle died, why her best friend died, and by her own hands." I was shocked.

"So, you mean, Enobaria and your uncle were once best friends?"

"Yes, they were, but I think it has grown from that, and then The Reaping happened and tore them apart." After that, Cato looked at me and I was surprised to see him so sad, tears forming inside his beautiful eyes.

"Cato, are you sad?" I asked him softly, and then tears started falling down his handsome face. Cato is crying in front of me and I don't know what to do. "Cato, are you crying?" I asked him even though I already know that he is. I just don't know what to do or what to say.

"No, I never cry," he said softly. Look at him, still acting cool as if he's someone who doesn't have feelings. But now I know that he has, after all. I placed my hand on his cheeks and wiped away his tears.

"Don't cry. It doesn't suit you," I said kindly. He looked me in the eye and we stared at each other for a moment before he looked away from me and pushed my hand aside.

"I'll go now." He stood up and left me alone.

After hearing Cato's story and seeing him cry, I have known that he is not a monster, that he has feelings after all. However, in his story, I can relate. Now I know what Enobaria meant earlier, saying that The Hunger Games is not a place for love. She did prove this thing by killing the person she loves during the games. What had happened between Enobaria and Cato's uncle was exactly the same thing that is happening to the two of us right now. We will also end up that way. Only one of us can live. Only one of us can survive. That's our destiny. That's the truth we have to accept. And right now, our friendship is being torn apart by the games as it had with his uncle's and Enobaria's.

**Cato**

What did I just do? I cried in front of her, that's what. I just couldn't help myself. Memories of my uncle seem to came back to me earlier. We've been close. He's my mother's youngest brother. I'm not that close with my other uncle. He's just different from Uncle Charlie. And then I watched him die, killed by Enobaria, the only girl he has ever loved. But crying in front of someone, especially Clove, was embarrassing. But looking into her eyes, I can tell that she really cares for me and I know that I do too, even though I've been denying this for so long. But we're destined to kill each other, just like my uncle and Enobaria. And right now, our friendship is being torn apart by the games as it had with my uncle's and Enobaria's.


	4. Memories Should Fade at The Parade

**Chapter 4: Memories Should Fade at The Parade**

**Cato**

I met up with Clove, Archie, Brutus and Enobaria as the train finally got into the capitol. I was a bit embarrassed to face Clove because of what happened earlier. I really shouldn't have cried in front of her. I really shouldn't have pushed her hand aside roughly. She was comforting me and I still did that to her. However, Archie kept on looking at the two of us questioningly, as though eager for an explanation for what happened earlier. I just ignored him, so did Clove. We've been too preoccupied to care about him.

I made my way to the window and I saw people, cheering, shouting, and waving at us. I waved back and gave them a cocky smile. I winked at a couple of girls as well. Meanwhile, Clove also made her way to the window and gave everyone her usual dangerous smile. Finally, we're here. I am very close to becoming a victor, and that is why I can't wait for the games to begin, I can't wait to become a victor, I can't wait to show the whole Panem what I'm capable of.

After that, we made our way outside the train and were led to The Remake Center. For me, this is the most boring part of The Hunger Games. Instead of training our hearts out, to further our chances, we were stuck here, to be made beautiful by our stylists for The Parade. Actually, they don't have to do much work with regards to me because I'm already, well, handsome. I guess they will not be too exhausted having me to work on. How lucky these fellows are. I was finally led to a private room where I will meet my stylist. I waited inside and the door opened and in came a woman, which turns out to be my stylist.

"Hi. My name is Cassandra," she said.

"I'm Cato. Nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand. We shook each other's hands and I gave her a cocky smile.

"So, you and your partner will be dressed into something that will reflect the character of your district," she said.

"Yes. I know that," I said in a matter-of-fact tone. She just ignored me.

"Since your district is well-known for its masonry, we have to incorporate that into your outfit," she said. "So, we have decided to dress you as Roman Gods and Goddesses."

"But what does that have to do with masonry?" I asked and Cassandra looks a bit disappointed.

"The Romans are well- known for their architecture using stone."

"Oh, I see," I said.

An hour has passed and Cassandra and I met up with Clove and her stylist. She looks so pretty wearing that golden dress with her hair tied up in a ponytail. She truly looks like a goddess. Our outfits consist mainly of armor, a golden armor, to be exact. We have these golden winged hats as well. But I like the way my outfit seems to show my muscles though.

And then I came to remind myself, as of The Reaping, I'm already a tribute, same as Clove. Minutes later and The Parade will occur, signaling the beginning of The Hunger Games and the ending of any connection I have with her. And now, I should know, that memories should fade at The Parade.

**Clove**

Lance, my stylist, and I met up with Cato and his stylist before we get on our chariot. I noticed that nothing much has changed with his physical appearance, considering of course, that he was already handsome even without the special efforts of his stylists. His hair is shorter and more blonde than before though.

And then I came to remind myself, as of The Reaping, I'm already a tribute, same as him. Minutes later and The Parade will occur, signaling the beginning of The Hunger Games and the ending of any connection I have with him. And now, I should know, that memories should fade at The Parade.

"It's time. Get on the chariot," Lance said. Cato and I stepped on the chariot. This is the first time that the two of us stand side by side ever since the events in the train. Maybe Cato was embarrassed when he cried in front of me, because it's not like him to cry like that. I was also shocked to see him in tears as well.

"Now, don't forget to act godlike," Cassandra, Cato's stylist, said to us.

"How?" Cato asked stupidly.

"You must look superior over the others," Cassandra answered. "Wave, but don't smile."

"You must look solemn," Lance added. Cato and I nodded at them.

I examined the other tributes. In front us were Marvel and Glimmer, the tributes from District 1. They were dressed in lavish clothes probably to represent their district's export, which is jewels. Marvel is skinny and tall and Glimmer is beautiful and downright sexy. I think she has been looking at Cato for a while. Cato, meanwhile, looked at her too and winked. Glimmer finally looked away from him, smiling, and talked with Marvel. It looks like Cato is interested in Glimmer and Glimmer is interested in him. Too bad, I'm going to kill both of them in the games and they will not live happily ever after. Never mind that now. I have spotted the boy from District 10, limping his way on their chariot. He and his district partner were adorned in a glittered cowboy like outfit. Finally, I have spotted the girl from District 12, she and her district partner were dressed up in a black unitard probably to represent coal. She looked at me and I can tell that she's very nervous. I glared at her and turned to Cato, smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked me.

"Oh, I'm just terrorizing some of the tributes," I answered.

"Me too," he said.

"Right, and flirting with the others," I said quietly, suddenly reminding myself about Glimmer.

"What did you say?" he asked me questioningly.

"Nothing," I said. "Anyway, it seems like you have recovered." I said to change the topic.

"Recovered from what?" he asked me curiously.

"Recovered from those sad, painful memories of your beloved uncle," I said teasingly. "It seems like you've never been crying your eyes out for a while."

Before he gets to answer back, the chariots began to move. Our chariot made its way through the gates. I can hear people shouting and cheering at us. I waved at them but didn't smile. I must look superior over the others. I must look solemn. It seems like Cato and I are doing a very good job. We are attracting too much attention. The shouts and cheers then suddenly became louder and louder. I was thinking that it's because of us until Cato bumped his shoulder lightly onto me and turned his head slightly at the back. And then I spotted them, the tributes from District 12, on fire. They were really attracting too much attention. They were really attracting all the attention, to be exact. I really hate them. They have stolen all the spotlights. I really hate District 12. They're going to die. I'm going to kill both of them. Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin District 12.

**Cato**

I can see hatred in Clove's eyes. We were doing fine before. We've been attracting too much attention because of our act and then District 12's chariot have arrived and caught everybody's attention. Because of them, I think we've been put in second place. We're number two, and Clove hates being number two. She likes to be on top of everything and her great thirst for victory makes her an almost formidable opponent. I don't blame her for that because we've been thinking about the same things, we've been wanting the same things.

"Welcome, welcome," President Snow bellowed. "Tributes, we welcome you, and we salute your courage and your sacrifice, and we wish you Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor." President Snow finished his welcoming speech and we were led away from here by our chariots.

Archie, Brutus, Enobaria, Cassandra and Lance met up with us.

"You two were great," Archie said cheerfully to lighten up the atmosphere caused by Clove and I.

"Yes, we were great, but not as great as those two coal miners," Clove said fiercely.

"At least you were great," Archie said, a little bit scared.

"What's the use of being great if someone else is greater?" Clove said, sounding really fierce.

"Don't worry Clove, this is just the beginning," I said.

"But still, they'll probably get all the sponsors for that," Clove said.

"Clove, we don't need sponsors, all we have to do is to show them who's boss, even if we only have to rely on ourselves," I said, but Clove looks as if she's not yet ok with it.

And then I spotted the tributes from District 12 with their escort, mentor, and stylists. I eavesdropped on their conversation when Haymitch Abernathy, their mentor, caught me and they quickly stopped their conversation at once. I gave them a dirty look as they made their way away from us. You better watch your back District 12.

**Clove**

We were inside our district's dormitory having our dinner in the dining room. I still haven't forgotten what happened earlier at The Parade. Oh! I really hate them. I really hate District 12. I want to kill them so badly I can't wait for the games. I was so angry I managed to break a drinking glass by slamming it hard on the table. It broke into pieces and my hand got wounded.

"Clove, don't tell me you still can't get over with District 12," Archie said.

"I want to kill them as soon as possible!" I said fiercely, ignoring my wounded hand.

"You have to calm down Clove, save your strength for the arena," Archie said pleadingly.

"I can't wait any longer!" I said angrily, still ignoring my wounded hand, as I grabbed the nearest knife and aim at a lampshade, but someone stopped my hand from throwing the knife. It was Cato. "Let go of me!"

"If I let go of you, you might break everything you see, you might even kill all of us," he said.

"Cato's right Clove, just calm down and get over yourself," Lance said.

"It's all your fault. I wouldn't be like this if it weren't for you. If you had managed to make a better outfit then I wouldn't be like this, then we would've never been outshined by those coal miners from District 12," I said angrily to Lance, standing up, as I quickly retrieved my hand from Cato. Well, it's true. It's the stylists' faults.

"Clove, just go and get your hand uninjured. There is medicine in the medicine cabinet in the living room," Enobaria said to me. "You'll be needing your hand tomorrow."

"Fine!" I said as I made my way to the living room. I was really raging inside and I couldn't control myself.

**Cato**

Clove stormed away from the room, leaving us speechless in the dining room. Well, knowing Clove for years, this was nothing new. But it's been a while since I saw her act like that so it was really surprising for me as well.

"Cato, go after your girlfriend," Archie said. "She might destroy the whole living room with that temper of hers."

"She's not my girlfriend, Archie," I said irritably. "How many times do we have to tell you that there's nothing going on between the two of us?"

"Cato, just go after her," Brutus said.

"Fine!" I said as I made my way to the living room. I was really raging inside and I couldn't control myself. As I got inside the living room, I saw Clove sitting on the sofa and mending her wounded hand.

"Do you need my help?" I said loudly to her. She turns her head on my direction and shouted at me. "I don't need your help. Just leave me alone. Why are you even here?"

"They insist me accompanying you here," I said. "They said you might destroy the whole living room if you're all alone in here."

"Then go and tell them that I won't," she said stubbornly.

"Ok," I said as I turned away from her. I made my way back to the dining room but didn't bother anymore to continue eating.

"What did she say to you?" Enobaria asked me.

"She told me to tell you that she will not destroy the whole living room," I said as I made my way upstairs.

"Only half of it?" Archie said sarcastically. The others laughed and I made my way into my room.

The atmosphere in my room is very pleasant, reminding me of my room in our house in District 2. It feels like I will have a good night's sleep. I put on my sleeping clothes and get on my bed. Tomorrow will be our first training day. I can't help but feel excited about it because I miss training so much. Though I haven't fully faded all my memories with Clove at The Parade, I will surely fade all of it away before the games. I don't want to kill her but I have to. I'm sorry Clove, but I have made up my mind. I fell asleep unknowingly minutes later.

**Clove**

I am sitting on the sofa in the living room. I have finally mended my wounded hand but I just don't feel like going in my room and sleep yet. Half an hour later and I finally got sleepy and made my way into my room. At least I have finally moved on from the events at The Parade. Before reaching my room, I have passed Cato's. His door is slightly ajar.

"Idiot," I said quietly. I peeked inside and saw that he was already fast asleep. When he's sleeping like this, you wouldn't know that he's a monster. He looks so peaceful. He's like an angel, fast asleep, with his handsome face and all. It seems like all the violence have gone out from the world. Though I haven't fully faded all my memories with Cato at The Parade, I will surely fade all of it away before the games. I don't want to kill him but I have to.

"I'm sorry Cato, I'm sorry I have to kill you," I said quietly. I closed the door properly for him and made my way into my room. Tomorrow, everything's about to change.


	5. Jealousy is a Funny Thing

**Chapter 5: Jealousy is a Funny Thing**

**First Training Day…**

**Cato**

Our first training day has finally arrived. Here we are, in the training center, listening to a woman for a short lecture. I didn't pay much attention to this because I was busy glancing at the other tributes and giving them my usual cocky grin. As I did this, they will quickly look away from me and listen intently to the short lecture instead. I have finally spotted the girl from District 12 and caught her eye. She quickly looked away from me just like anybody else and listens to the short lecture instead. Clove is standing beside me and I'm sure that she's also terrorizing the other tributes just like me, especially the tributes from District 12. Her hatred towards them hasn't faded away even a little bit. Finally, the short lecture was over. Everybody turned to the different stations and went for one to practice on. I made my way towards the other career tributes, with Clove following me.

"Hey!" I said cockily. "My name is Cato." I saw Glimmer looking at me interestedly, the same way she did last night, at The Parade.

"My name is Clove," Clove said dangerously. "Nice to meet all of you."

"I'm Glimmer," Glimmer said beautifully, still looking at me. I saw Clove glaring at her annoyingly. Is she jealous?

"I'm Marvel," Marvel said coolly. He is looking at Clove admiringly. He likes Clove for sure. Clove then suddenly looked away from Glimmer and turned to Marvel instead. She nodded at him and he nodded at her too. My cockiness faded a little as I look at the two of them.

"I'm Rica," the girl from District 4 said.

"And I'm Kevin," the boy from District 4 said.

"So, let's make an alliance in the games," I said cockily to them, announcing that I'm the leader. No one rejected and we nodded at each other before turning away.

I made my way towards the swords station. Clove made her way towards the knives station. She immediately grabbed some knives and throws them one after the other at different targets. Not one of them missed. The people who have been watching her were shocked by what she did. I don't blame them because what she did really was awesome. And I'm also sure that she misses training as much as I do. Before grabbing a sword and train on my own, I made my way towards her first and patted her on the back.

"Nice Clove," I said to her, smiling. "I guess you really can't wait to show off to everyone." She looked at me.

"Don't bother me. I miss training so much and I'm sure that you do too. So, why don't you just mind your own business?" she said fiercely.

"Oh, I was about to, but I can't help but get impressed by your amazing skills," I said teasingly. She smiled at me.

"Then go and show your own amazing skills for me to get impressed as well," she said, smiling. I smiled at her as I made my way back to the swords station.

**Clove**

Cato really knows how to make me smile. And I think it's one of the things I like about him. Too bad he won't be able to do that anymore after the games. I hope someone else will be able to make me smile as well when he's already gone.

I saw him made his way towards the swords station. He grabbed a sword and cut the body parts of two dummies consecutively. He stabbed another dummy multiple times as well. Many people have stopped their activities and turned to watch him do his thing. He really looks so dangerous when he's like that, especially with the sword. I stopped training as well and was about to made my way towards him when a girl with flowing blonde hair came towards him first and patted him on the back. This girl turns out to be Glimmer.

I grabbed three knives and throw them one after the other at a single dummy, imagining the dummy as Glimmer. I sent the first knife through its head, the second knife through its neck and the third knife through its chest. Oh! I really wish the dummy was Glimmer. I hate her. I really hate her. From the start, she was already like that, up to now, and I'm sure it will go all throughout the games. And Cato, what is wrong with him? I think he likes her too. Oh! I hate them. I hate them both. I'm going to kill them in the games. I'm sorry Cato, but you and your Glimmer will be dead. Too bad the two of you won't be able to live happily ever after.

I grabbed another knife and grip it tightly. Before I even know what to do with it, someone grabbed my hand from the back and I looked around to see Marvel, smiling at me.

"Let go of me!" I said fiercely. "Can't you see that I'm training here?"

"If I let go of you, you might shot this knife right through the hearts of either Cato or Glimmer, it depends on which one of them you hate more." he said, smiling. "The lucky one will surely end up dead even before the games, because as I have seen, you never missed. You're really good with knives."

"I hate them both," I said fiercely as I tried my best to retrieve my hand from him. "They will really end up dead when the time came."

"You're really cute when you're jealous like that," he said teasingly.

"I'm not jealous," I said fiercely.

"You are. I can see it in your eyes," he said teasingly. I began thinking of a way to make him let go of me. I have spotted the knives that were placed nearest to us.

"Don't forget that I still have my other hand," I said menacingly as I grab one of the knives. "I can use this knife to slit your throat if you say one more word."

"Oh really?" he said teasingly as he grabbed my other hand as well. Now he's at my back with his hands gripping my hands tightly as I am trying my best to retrieve my hands from him. What we're doing really caught everybody else's attention. We were separated by the peacekeepers moments later.

"No fighting with the other tributes!" one of them said. "You have plenty of time for that in the arena!" I saw Cato looking at us questioningly.

"No, we're not fighting," Marvel managed to say. "We were just talking."

"Very nice, you were talking while you're attempting to kill each other, using knives and all," another peacekeeper said. "What a very nice way to talk to each other. Is this the new trend these days?"

**Cato**

I saw Clove fighting with Marvel. I was about to come towards them when the peacekeepers have arrived and separate them. And now, they are being lectured by the peacekeepers with everyone else watching them. What is wrong with the two of them? Earlier, Marvel was looking at Clove admiringly and Clove seems to appreciate him and then they got into a fight moments later. I wonder what went wrong with them.

"Marvel is such an idiot, a complete coward, I must say, fighting with someone smaller than him," Glimmer suddenly spoke. "Too bad, they really look good on each other, don't you think?"

"I don't think so," I said stiffly.

"What?" Glimmer said questioningly.

I just ignored her and I proceed with my training as Clove and Marvel were led outside by the peacekeepers. Minutes later and I got bored with the sword so I made my way to the knives station.

**Clove**

An hour after Marvel and I were led outside the training center, we were escorted back inside by the peacekeepers to proceed with our training. As I stepped inside the training center, the first sound I heard was Cato's voice. I have spotted him arguing with the boy from District 6. They are being separated by the peacekeepers. From what I heard, they were arguing because of a knife. Cato was accusing the boy for stealing his knife. And then I remember when we were in the training center in District 2. He broke the nose of another boy for getting hold of the sword that he wanted to use. He's very childish way back then but I never knew that up to now, he's still like that. I was reminiscing some of the memories I have shared with him when I reminded myself that I mustn't. I must fade all my memories with him away. I know it's hard, but I must, to make it easier for me to kill him when the time came. What a tragic end to our friendship.

**Cato**

We were escorted back to our dormitory by the peacekeepers. I met up with Clove and I smiled at her. She just nodded at me. We stayed quiet as we're making our way back to our dormitory. I want to talk to her, ask her about her fight with Marvel, but she looks as if she's not in the mood for such conversations. We finally got into our dormitory. An hour later and we're in the dining room having our dinner with Archie, Brutus, Enobaria, Cassandra and Lance. We talked as we ate.

"As you know, getting into a fight was a good idea," Brutus said. "Now they know that you're crazy and not someone to mess up with."

"But you should also remember to save up some of your strengths and skills for your private session with the game makers," Enobaria added. Clove and I nodded as we continue eating.

**Second Training Day…**

**Cato**

Our second training day turned out to be as exciting as the first. I love training so much. I can't stand missing training even for a day. I trained with the sword and have managed to impress everyone who watched me do my thing. I suddenly became bored with the sword so I made my way to the spears and grab one of them. I saw Marvel throwing spears at dummies, so he's really skilled with spears. No matter, I'm still better than him. I don't know why but I have been bitter about him ever since yesterday. He looked at me and I gave him a cocky grin before stabbing a dummy using the spear. He made his way to the dummies to retrieve some spears from them when a knife suddenly came pelting through one of them, exactly through its chest. I looked around to see Clove, but she's not looking at me but at Marvel. She's smiling dangerously at him.

"Hey Clove," Marvel shouted at her. "What were you doing? What if you missed? You could kill me. You nearly killed me."

"I never missed, you idiot," Clove shouted back at him. "Besides, I'm not going to kill you, yet." Marvel then came towards her, smiling. I quickly made my way towards them.

"So, are you going to fight with each other again?" I asked them.

"No, we're not," Marvel answered me. "When did we ever fight?"

"Let me think, yesterday?" I said sarcastically. Marvel just laughed at me. "What are you laughing at?"

"Cato, calm down, we were just hanging out yesterday," Marvel said, laughing.

"Hanging out?" I asked.

"Yes," Marvel said, still laughing. I'm starting to get annoyed.

"The two of you just met," I retorted.

"Either way Cato, it's clearly none of your business," Clove said. I looked at her disbelievingly.

"What's going on in here?" Glimmer suddenly asked as she made her way towards us.

Before we get to answer back, we were distracted by a loud sound. Someone must have fallen down from the climbing station. We looked around to see the boy from District 12 on the floor. We laughed as we looked at him moaning in pain on the floor where he fell. His district partner suddenly came towards him and whispered something to him. After that they looked at us and we glared at them. The boy then made his way to the weights station and grab a heavy-looking ball. He trembled a bit as he hold on to it. He's really making a fool of himself. He's just a meal. But then he managed to throw it to a stall where some spears were placed. These spears ended up rolling on the floor. So he's strong. I looked at Clove, Marvel and Glimmer. They were also shocked by what he did, which only means that we also need to watch out for him.

I made my way back to the swords station without another word with the others. I don't have time for nonsense things anymore. I'll just focus on my training from now on.

**Clove**

I saw Cato walking away from us and making his way back to the swords station. What was his problem earlier? He was weird. He acted as if he's jealous or something, the same way he did at his party the night before the reaping.

"What's going on? What happened earlier?" Glimmer asked eagerly. I just ignored her. I made my way to the knives station and Marvel made his way to the spears station. "Nice talking." I heard her say. I saw her made her way to the bow and arrows station where the girl from District 12 is standing. I noticed that she seems interested in the bow and arrows, standing there and staring at it interestedly. I wonder if she has the talent. I caught her eye and I gave her a dangerous smile. She quickly looked away from me and walked away.

I trained with the knives and as usual, people have stopped their activities to watch me do my thing. An hour has passed and I got tired. I stopped training and watched the other tributes for a while. I saw the boy from District 11 grabbing heavy-looking objects from the weights station and throwing them with ease. We were not mistaken. This tribute will really be a threat in the games. His district partner, however, seems good in hiding, especially in climbing, but I still don't see her as a threat in the games. The boy from District 10 really looks so funny, limping and all towards the different stations. I laughed a little as I looked at him with his crippled foot. I stopped laughing when I saw Cato helping Glimmer shoot an arrow at a dummy. I clenched my fists and I grabbed a knife and sent it through a dummy's chest. Throwing knives when I'm angry is something that I got used to as I grew up, though I don't know why I'm angry right now. Suddenly, I felt someone placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked around to see Marvel, smiling at me.

"Seeing you like that really convinces me that you're really into him," he said, smiling.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him irritably.

"You perfectly know what I'm talking about," he said. "You like Cato, don't you?"

"No, I don't," I said irritably.

"You do. Don't lie. It's pretty obvious," he said, smiling.

"Well, maybe I do," I said.

"I knew it. That's why you're getting jealous every time you see him with Glimmer," he said. "Anyway, it looks like he is also getting jealous every time he sees the two of us together."

"Impossible. But why do you always show up when I'm like that?" I asked him curiously.

"Like what?" he asked me stupidly.

"Like, jealous, according to you," I said.

"Well, I think it's because I like you. I like you Clove," he said. I was startled. I just laughed at him. "Why are you laughing? Do you think I'm joking? Well, I'm not." I stopped laughing at once. "I'm serious."

"Marvel, you don't know what you're talking about," I said, thinking about how we will end up in the games. I don't want my thoughts to overflow. I have enough already. And how can I be sure that he's not making this up just to fool me.

"I know what you mean Clove and I understand. You like Cato and there's nothing I can do about it," he said.

"_Idiot,"_ I said inside my head. He's so slow. "I'm not talking about Cato. I'm talking about the games. I will surely kill you when the time came, as well as anybody who tries to get in my way. So don't think that I will show compassion to you in the games just by saying those words to me. Besides, I don't think you mean it at all. You just said it to earn my trust so it will be easier for you to kill me in the end."

"Clove, I mean it. I like you." I just ignored him as I made my way back to the knives station and proceed with my training. Well, he sounded sincere, but who knows? I shouldn't trust anyone so easily. I should win, damn it, and I will. I will kill all of them, no matter what it takes.


	6. Hatred Towards Katniss Everdeen

**Chapter 6: Hatred Towards Katniss Everdeen**

**Clove**

Our second training session has ended already and peacekeepers have been making their way towards us to escort us back to our respective dormitories. I stopped training minutes later and met up with Cato and two peacekeepers. Suddenly, I saw Marvel making his way towards us.

"Clove, let's talk," he said to me. I saw Cato eyeing us suspiciously.

"You should join your district partner boy. Training has ended already. You should be on your way to your dormitory right now," one of the peacekeepers said.

"I just want to have a quick word with Clove. Just give us a few minutes," Marvel said pleadingly. "Besides, I told the peacekeepers in charge of me to wait outside until I came out. So, why don't you just do the same for Clove. I promise it will not take long."

"Ok, suit yourselves," the other peacekeeper said. The two of them led Cato outside the training center and left me and Marvel inside. Cato is still looking at us suspiciously. As they closed the door, Marvel grabbed my hand and dragged me to the end of the room. He grabbed my other hand and looked me in the eye.

"Clove, what I've said earlier was true. I'm not lying to you. I really like you," he said sincerely.

"Marvel, just snap out of it," I said as I retrieved my hands from him and walked away from him, but he grabbed my hands and made me face him once again.

"I'm not asking you to like me back, because I know that you won't, because we're in The Hunger Games, and Cato is the one you like, but I just want you to know that I really like you, that I'm sincere, and it will really be a shame to kill you in the end. I don't even know if I can."

"Marvel…," I began but he interrupted.

"I will prove it to you Clove, right now, for you to know that I'm telling the truth," he said.

"Marvel…," I began but he let go of my hands and grabbed my face instead. He leaned closer and closer to me. I don't know what to do. I was rooted to the spot. We're almost nose to nose now and he was about to kiss me when someone dragged him away from me forcefully he was lucky he was not on the floor right now. He still managed to stand firmly. I saw Cato eyeing him angrily.

"What do you think you were doing, huh?" he shouted angrily, as he grabbed Marvel by the scruff of the neck.

"Cato…," I managed to say, and Cato let go of him and punched him on the face. "Cato, just let him go!" I shouted at him as I grabbed his arm. He looked me in the eye as I let go of him. Marvel then gave me one last look and walked away. I glared at Cato before walking away from him as well.

I saw Marvel making his way towards the door but I could not catch up with him. The door then suddenly opened and in came Glimmer, smiling cheerfully at the two of us. She made her way towards us as we continue walking towards the door.

"I decided to follow you in here, curious about what was taking you so long," she said cheerfully. We just ignored her. "Marvel, what happened to your face?" She asked, not as cheerful as before, as she got a better view of us. Marvel just walked past her. She stopped walking and watched Marvel's back. She looked around at me. "What happened Clove? What did I miss? And where is Cato? He went inside minutes before I did." I just ignored her and walked past her. "I'm also a part of the career pack, you know? And I also have the right to know what's going on. "She sighed. "Am I really a career tribute here?" I heard her say as I made my way towards the door.

**Cato**

I walked away minutes after Marvel and Clove did. I met up with Glimmer, who looks confused.

"Cato, what exactly happened?" she asked me eagerly. I just ignored her and walked past her, hearing her mutter angrily under her breath.

I met up with the others outside. The peacekeepers looked as confused as Glimmer. Marvel and Clove were just staring at the floor. I made my way towards Clove.

"Where is the pretty girl?" one of the peacekeepers asked me. I just ignored him.

"She'll be along," another peacekeeper said, the first one muttering under his breath. Seconds later and Glimmer joined us outside. We were led in our respective dormitories by the peacekeepers. No words came out from Clove's mouth and mine as we made our way back to our dormitory. Finally, we have reached our destination. We made our way towards the dining room. For sure, Archie, Brutus, Enobaria, Cassandra and Lance were already there. It's dinner time.

"You shouldn't have hit him," Clove shouted at me fiercely as soon as we stepped inside the dining room. Archie and the others looked at the two of us questioningly.

"Clove, let's just talk to each other and clear things up a bit, ok?" I said to her, keeping myself as calm as possible.

"I don't want to talk to you," she shouted at me, fiercely once again.

"Oh, so you'll talk to Marvel but you won't talk to me," I said, sounding fiercer and fiercer every second. I can't keep myself calm anymore. She gave me one last look before making her way upstairs abruptly.

"Cato, what happened?" Cassandra asked me. I just ignored her and made my way upstairs as well, hearing Archie muttering things like lovers' quarrel under his breath.

I made my way towards my room, still thinking about the events earlier. I hit Marvel because I got angry when I saw him leaning closer and closer to Clove. He was about to kiss her when I entered the scene. I don't know why I got angry. I think I just got jealous seeing the two of them that close. They've been close with each other ever since yesterday and I can't help but get jealous. I want to be with Clove but because of him, because of his presence, I can't. I was accompanied by Glimmer instead. But Clove seems to be enjoying her time with him. Is it possible that she likes him? She didn't even resist when he was about to kiss her. She even got mad at me for hitting him.

Clove, why are you doing this to me? Why am I feeling this way all because of you? But then I came to think of it, Clove hanging out with Marvel will just separate the two of us more and more, which will be good, I might forget about my strange feelings for her and I can focus more on my training. I'll just let her get close with Marvel more and more, because in that way, we'll be able to stay away from each other, so that little by little, the connection between the two of us will get weaker and weaker, and with that, I will not hesitate anymore to kill her in the games, because that's how things should really end up in the end.

**Clove**

The next day, I met up with Cato at breakfast. I was thinking of apologizing to him for my rudeness last night, but he didn't even say hello to me. He didn't even look at me. He just ignored me completely. We've been like this for the rest of the day. We didn't even say a single word to each other. Well, if that's what he wanted, fine. Ignoring him is as easy as killing an ant.

Our training days went faster than expected and the games is fast approaching. That's why I've been training harder and harder each day to enhance my skills more and more. But certain distractions can really affect me and my training. The closeness between Cato and Glimmer can't really go unnoticed. Cato seems to be talking more to Glimmer than to me. Yes, we have stopped ignoring each other for a while now, we got okay after I apologized to him, but things weren't exactly the same for us anymore. The bond between the two of us wasn't as close as before. I thought hanging out with Marvel will make Cato go after me or talk to me like he did before, but right now, I don't think he cares at all.

I woke up in the early hours of the morning only to find out that I was too excited to go back to sleep. Our private training sessions with the game makers will be held today. I will definitely do my best and impress everyone. I will definitely show them what I'm capable of and I will definitely receive a high training score from them, higher than anyone else. I made my way to the living room as soon as I got myself ready. The others were probably still asleep. I sat on the couch thinking about what might happen later when I heard somebody come inside. I looked around and saw Cato making his way towards me. I looked away from him immediately as if I didn't see him. He sat on the couch beside me smiling excitedly. He looked at me but I didn't.

"So, you're here as well," he said. "Let me guess, too excited to go back to sleep?" I nodded. "Hey, is there something wrong? Why aren't you even looking at me?" I just ignored him. "Clove." I laughed a little. He gave me a confused look. "Why are you laughing?"

"Oh. I'm just surprised you still know my name," I said to him, still laughing. "See you." I said as I stood up and made my way towards my room. I'd rather stay there than in the living room with Cato. I'm not in the mood to hang out with him today. I just don't feel like being one of his past times when Glimmer is not around. I miss him though. I wonder if he misses me too.

**Cato**

I still can't understand Clove's actions earlier. Two hours have passed and I'm in the dining room with her, Archie, Brutus, Enobaria, Cassandra and Lance. We are having our breakfast and as usual, we talked as we ate.

"This is the time to show them everything," Enobaria said.

"Make sure they'll remember you," Brutus added.

Moments later and Clove and I met up with the other tributes. I gave everyone else my usual cocky grin. We formed a line according to our district number and sat on a long bench accordingly. I saw Marvel giving Clove encouraging looks and Clove is doing the same to him. It's really hard for me to ignore it. Glimmer then started talking to me, which was a relief, for me to stop getting bothered by Clove and Marvel's interactions.

Minutes later and Marvel was called. He came inside the room and moments later he came outside looking proud of himself. He nodded at Clove, then at Glimmer, then at me. I just ignored him. He walked away as Glimmer was called and came inside the room. Moments later and she came outside with a smile on her face. She gave me an encouraging smile before walking away. My name was called and every head turned to me. I gave them a cocky grin before going inside.

As I stepped inside, excitement flooded me. I saw the game makers looking at me interestedly. I immediately made my way towards the swords and did everything that I could with it which made the game makers give me a loud round of applause. I showed them everything and I'm sure I did my best. I'm also sure that they'll give me a high training score, higher than anybody else. Nobody will be able to outshine me. I made my way outside as the game makers clapped and clapped. I saw Clove and the others looking at me. I turned to Clove.

"Good luck," I said to her before walking away. I heard her name being called as I walked away. I have spotted the girl from District 12, looking nervous and scared. I gave her a dirty look as I walked past her, making her look more nervous and scared than before.

**Clove**

I have managed to earn a loud round of applause from the game makers as I showed them what I'm capable of. I made my way outside with a proud expression on my face. The other tributes are all looking at me. I gave them my usual dangerous smile and walked away, knowing that I have done my best and I will probably get a high training score, higher than anybody else. Nobody will be able to outshine me. I saw the girl from District 12 and glared at her as I walked past her. You are not going to outshine me this time District 12.

A peacekeeper escorted me back to our dormitory. I saw Cato, Archie, Brutus, Enobaria, Cassandra and Lance sitting on couches in the living room. I made my way towards them with a proud and happy expression on my face. They all looked at me as I made my way towards Cato and sat on the couch beside him.

"You look so happy Clove," Archie said. "Did you kill someone on your way here?" The others laughed.

"I'm sure you have managed to impress the game makers Clove," Enobaria said.

"Of course, all of them," I said proudly.

"Very good then. You and Cato will get high ratings for sure," Brutus said.

"He was also like that when he entered the living room earlier," Cassandra said.

"All we have to do is wait for the results, which of course, won't be too surprising anymore knowing how good you performed earlier," Lance said. I smiled and saw Cato smiling as well. He looked at me and I quickly looked away from him.

We rested for the rest of the day and came back to the living room when it's already time to watch the results of our training. Now is the time for everyone to know how well I performed during training. Caesar Flickerman's face appeared in the screen. He began announcing the scores. Marvel and Glimmer got a score of nine, not bad, and then it was our turn.

"From District 2, Cato, with a score of ten," Caesar Flickerman announced. Archie and the others cheered as Cato gave us a cocky grin. They quickly quiet down to listen to my score. "And Clove, with a score of ten." They cheered once again and I smiled at them. "Bravo District 2." I can tell that Caesar Flickerman was impressed by our scores as well.

The other tributes have lower scores so I didn't pay much attention to them. The tributes from District 11 are the ones who caught my attention after watching the others. Thresh, the male tribute, got a score of 10, possibly for his strength, and Rue, the female tribute, got a score of seven, possibly for her ability in hiding and climbing trees.

"From District 12, Peeta Mellark, with a score of eight," Caesar Flickerman continued. Well, it is possibly because of his physical strength. "And finally, from District 12, Katniss Everdeen, with a score of… eleven."

"What?" I shouted angrily as I stood up. "An eleven? Impossible!"

"Clove, calm down, it's going to be fine," Archie said as he stood up, calming me down, but I can't.

"Fine? Yeah, maybe for you, but for me, no!" I shouted angrily. "How did she do that?" Now, the others stood up and tried to calm me down, but I really can't.

"Clove, calm down," Cato said.

"I hate her!" I shouted angrily as I stormed away from them and made my way towards my room. I slammed my room door as soon as I stepped inside. I sat on the floor and cried. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. I did my best. I showed them everything. And it really hurts to know that I've been outshined by somebody else. And in my situation, I've been outshined by the same person, by the same girl. Why can't I be better than her in something? I've been in second place ever since The Parade because of her. I hate her. I really hate her. I am going to kill her in the games. I am going to kill everyone. I am going to be the victor. I'll show her. I'll show them.

The door then suddenly opened and in came Cato. He made his way towards me and sat on the floor beside me.

"Clove, don't worry, I'm going to kill her," he said. I looked at him.

"No! I'm going to kill her!" I said fiercely.

"Ok, fine. I'll just get her for you," he said. "Now, don't cry, it doesn't suit you." He said teasingly. I looked away from him and was about to wipe away my tears when he grabbed my face and made me look at him once again. "Let me." He said softly. He wiped away my tears and we stared at each other for a moment. Archie's voice suddenly broke us apart.

"Oh, there you are," he said. He looked at the two of us questioningly. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, you're not," I said as I stood up. "Cato, get out of my room." Cato immediately stood up.

"Are you okay now?" he asked me.

"Yes," I answered as I pushed him outside. Finally, Archie and Cato were outside. "Bye!" I said to them as I closed the door.


	7. The Interview and The Dance

**Chapter 7: The Interview and The Dance**

**Clove**

I've been preparing myself for the interview with my stylist, Lance, and here I am, looking at myself in the mirror. I am wearing a strapless red gown and red heels, about 5 inches. I am also wearing my hair down. I have light red eye shadows and red lipstick as well. I must admit that I'm stunningly pretty tonight.

"You really look beautiful Clove," Lance said. I turned around and face him. I smiled at him. "I think you look beautiful enough to impress Cato." My smile faded a little.

"Cato doesn't have anything to do with me," I said fiercely.

"Clove, tomorrow will be the start of The Hunger Games and tonight will be your last chance to be with each other in any way that you want," he said. "We know you have been ignoring each other for the past few days because of the games. We're not stupid Clove. We know there is something going on between the two of you."

"There isn't. Cato and I are just…," I said but Lance interrupted.

"What? Friends? Either way Clove, wouldn't it be better to work things out before one of you has to say goodbye?"

I looked away from him and stared at myself in the mirror instead. Lance was right, up to now, I still have strange feelings for Cato. I still haven't managed to fade all my memories with him away. The problem is that I'm not so sure if he feels the same way about me. We haven't been talking for days, even after he comforted me in my room. Besides, he likes Glimmer and there's nothing I can do about it. Now, I just have to focus more on the interview.

Minutes later and Lance and I met up with Cato and his stylist, Cassandra. Cato really looks handsome tonight. Well, he always is so there's no need to be surprised. He smiled at me and I just nodded at him. I'm not planning to talk to him. I'll just ignore him completely, because such distractions can never come in handy with serious situations like this. I'll just focus more on the interview.

Cato and I met up with the other tributes. They have already formed a line. We made our way to the front. I saw Katniss Everdeen, the girl from District 12, staring at me. I glared at her and she quickly looked away from me.

"Don't worry Clove, you're so much prettier than her," Cato suddenly said.

"Oh, I'm not that insecure," I said.

We continued making our way to the front. I glared at the other tributes as we walked. We stand behind Marvel and Glimmer. Marvel smiled at me. I smiled back at him, thinking about the games. Marvel, I hope somebody else will kill you.

**Cato**

Marvel and Clove smiled at each other. Seeing the two of them like that really annoys me so I always find a way to distract myself. Glimmer then smiled at me and I smiled back at her. The two of us have been close for the past few days but I never took her as a friend. I'm just hanging out with her to stay away from Clove and Marvel. I'm just using her as a distraction.

Well, to be honest, I never accomplished anything with regards to me and Clove. I still have strange feelings for her. I still haven't managed to fade all my memories with her away. I still think about her each and every day. The problem is that I'm not so sure if she feels the same way about me. We haven't been talking for days, even after I comforted her in her room. It seems like she has developed her feelings for Marvel and there's nothing I can do about it. Now, I just have to focus more on the interview.

Moments later and the interview has began. Glimmer was called and she made her way to the stage with two guards. We watched her interview with Caesar Flickerman in a screen in front of us. I think people have been staring at her because of her beauty. She'll get many sponsors for that. Minutes later and Marvel was called, and then it was Clove's turn. Her name was called and she made her way to the stage with two guards. Clove really looks beautiful tonight. I can't help but get mesmerized by her. For me, she's even prettier than Glimmer. I watched her interview with Caesar Flickerman in the screen.

**Clove**

"Welcome Clove," Caesar Flickerman said cheerfully as I made my way towards him. We shake each other's hands.

"It's good to be here Caesar," I said sweetly as I sat on the chair next to him.

"You look lovely," he said admiringly. I smiled a little.

"Thank you Caesar," I said sweetly. "How kind of you."

"So Clove, tell me, what are you looking forward to in the games?" he asked me. What a very stupid question.

"Killing," I said sweetly.

"Of course, how silly of me," he said, laughing. The audience laughed as well. "So, what did you feel when your name was called at the reaping?" Oh no. Should I tell the truth? No, of course not. But then all the thoughts that have been bothering me ever since the reaping seem to flood me right now. I just smiled to hide all of it away.

"I felt absolutely happy," I said sweetly. "Because I've been prepared for the games ever since and I've been wanting to show the whole Panem what I'm capable of. Luckily, I was called and here I am, in front of all of you, the soon to be victor of the 74th Annual Hunger Games." I gave everyone a dangerous smile.

"Oh, you look so dangerous, yet so lovely," Caesar said, clutching his chest. I smiled at him. "And you seem so confident, and confidence is key." He smiled at me admiringly. "So Clove, tell me, do you have a sweetheart back home?"

"No," I sighed. "But once I'm the victor, I'll have them lined up." I smiled again.

"Of course," Caesar said. He then gave me his hand and we both stand up. "Clove! District 2!" He bellowed as he held up my hand. After that, I was dismissed and I met up with Archie and the others.

"You did wonderful darling," Archie said. "That was incredible." I smiled, and we watched Cato's interview in a screen in front of us.

"So Cato, are you prepared?" Caesar asked him.

"I'm prepared. I'm just ready to go," he answered cockily. Caesar laughed a little.

"So, the most important thing for you is to win, correct?" Caesar asked him.

"Yes, because it can really impress the ladies," Cato answered as he winked at the audiences. He's really handsome.

"True," Caesar said, laughing. He patted Cato on the shoulder. "So Cato, tell me, is there a special lady back home that you wanted to impress?"

"No," he sighed. "I don't have a love life right now." Archie and the others looked at me.

"Why are you looking at me?" I asked them irritably. They just ignored me and looked away from me. I know that they've been thinking about me and Cato being lovers and all. Moments later and Cato met up with us.

"Nice job Cato," Archie said to him. He smiled cockily.

We watched the interview of the other tributes in the screen but I wasn't paying too much attention to them. What I'm really looking forward to is Katniss Everdeen. And finally, it was her turn. She walked towards Caesar Flickerman looking both scared and nervous. Well, she's always like that. But it really entertains me to see her like that, as if she's afraid of every little thing. However, Caesar Flickerman seems to favor her. He's been discussing the events at the parade admiringly and Katniss ended up twirling on stage with fire on her gown. The audiences were really amazed by it. Oh! I really hate her. She's really a show off. And after that, dramatic conversations about her volunteering for her sister at the reaping came up. And finally, her interview was over, but I'm still raging inside. I really hate her.

And then it was Peeta Mellark's turn. I was also annoyed by him. It's like Caesar and the audiences were his puppets, laughing and all in every word that he says. And then their conversation turned into something serious.

"So Peeta, is there a special girl back home?" Caesar asked him.

"No, not really," he answered. Caesar looked at him questioningly.

"No? I don't believe it for a second, look at that face, a handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" Caesar insisted.

"There is this one girl then, and I had a crush on her forever, but I don't think she actually recognized me until the reaping," he said.

"I'll tell you what Peeta, if you go out there, and you win this thing, and when you get home, then she'll have to go out with you," Caesar said. "Right folks?" The audiences made loud noises of approval and Caesar laughed. However, Peeta didn't.

"But I don't think winning is going to help me at all," he said.

"And why not?"

"Because she came here with me." The audiences quiet down. Of course they were shocked.

"Well, that's bad luck," Caesar said quietly.

"It looks like another pair of star crossed lovers will be thrown in the arena tomorrow," Archie said, minutes after Caesar dismissed Peeta. And then he looked at Cato and me. "Oh, I forgot, we also have our own star crossed lovers right here." The others looked at the two of us as well. I eyed Archie angrily. He quickly looked away from me. Before another fight broke off, an announcement was heard.

"Attention tributes, we would like you to go to the backstage for the closing ceremony," Caesar Flickerman's voice echoed from above.

"Closing ceremony? For what?" Cato asked.

"We don't know either," Cassandra answered.

"Just follow their instructions," Enobaria said. Cato and I nodded.

"Let's go Clove," Cato said to me. I nodded and we made our way to the backstage. I wonder what the closing ceremony is about.

**Cato**

We met up with the other tributes inside the backstage. They look confused as well. I have spotted Katniss and Peeta. It looks like they had a fight. I can tell by the looks on their faces. Minutes later and Caesar Flickerman has arrived.

"Tributes, I would like you to form a line according to your district number. Quickly please," he said and we immediately formed a line. Clove and I stand behind Marvel and Glimmer. "So, we have decided to have a dance."

"A dance?" Marvel asked.

"Yes, a dance. You are going to dance with your district partner for the rest of the night until we ordered you to stop," Caesar said. "As I gave the signal, you will get on the stage and dance in front of the audiences. District 1 will go first and the rest of you will follow, alright?" We nodded though I don't really understand what the purpose of this dance is. No matter, I'll just go with the flow.

**Clove**

We heard Caesar's voice and the audiences' cheers. I still don't get it. What is the purpose of this dance? Again, we heard Caesar's voice, this time signaling the start of the stupid dance. Marvel and Glimmer brought the lead. They made their way to the stage holding each other's hands. A romantic song was played and the audiences' cheers became louder. Cato then holds my hand and we followed. We made our way to the stage holding each other's hands.

This is the first time we held each other's hands. So this is how it feels when you're holding hands with someone. I saw Marvel and Glimmer dancing romantically. Cato then holds my other hand and made me face him. And now, we're facing each other and looking into each other's eyes. I looked away from him.

"Don't touch me," I said quietly as I tried retrieving my hands from him.

"We can't dance without touching each other, can we?" he said teasingly. I looked at him. He was smiling at me. I just ignored him. Then he let go of my hands and placed his hands around my waist. I looked at him. "Shall we dance?" He asked me.

"What choice do I have?" I said and he smiled at me. I slowly placed my hands around his neck. The other tributes have been making their way to the stage pair by pair. I didn't bother looking at Cato as we danced even though I know that he has been looking at me. I caught a glimpse of Glimmer looking at the two of us. I'm sure she wants to dance with Cato as much as Cato wants to dance with her. Katniss and Peeta, meanwhile, seem to hate this moment. They probably had a fight earlier.

"Clove, why don't you look me in the eye?" Cato suddenly said to me. I laughed a little.

"As if you wanted me to," I said without even looking at him.

"Clove, what do you mean?"

"Oh, I'm sure you want to dance with Glimmer rather than me."

"I don't," he said. I looked at him. "It's you whom I want to dance with."

"Are you sure?" I asked him disbelievingly.

"I'm sure, and I want to be sure, because I want to be with you," he said. "I miss you Clove. I miss you so much." And now we're looking into each other's eyes, dancing romantically with the music. I never thought I would hear such words from him. And here I am, with the only person whom I want to be with right now, knowing that he wants to be with me as well and hoping that things will be the same again for the two of us. But I know that it won't, as long as we're in the games. And here I am, unexpectedly wishing that we're not.

**The night before the games…**

**Clove**

I am sitting on one of the couches in the living room thinking about the games. I've made up my mind. I don't want to kill Cato but I don't want to die so I have to kill him. I know that one of us has to die, one of us has to say goodbye and it's going to be him. At least we've managed to work things out before the games, just like what Lance told me, and I think that was enough. I will kill him. I won't hesitate. I know it's hard but I have to. I'm sorry Cato, I'm sorry I have to kill you.

I ended up my thoughts as I heard somebody come inside. I looked around and saw Enobaria making her way towards me. She sat on the couch beside me.

"I know what you're thinking right now," she said. "You're thinking about the games. You're thinking about Cato. "

"I'm not," I denied.

"Don't lie to me. You're thinking about him. Don't deny it," she said. "Clove, I saw the way you looked at him and by that, I can tell that there's something special between the two of you. Clove, The Hunger Games is not a place for love. You need to kill everyone in order to survive. You shouldn't hesitate because you'll die first if you do. I have faith in you Clove. I know that you can win." We stayed quiet for a while. Moments later and I remembered about Cato's story about his uncle and Enobaria.

"Enobaria, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Of course," she answered.

"What did you feel when you won the games?" I asked her.

"I felt happy, of course. I felt proud of myself," she answered.

"Did you also feel happy and proud when you killed your best friend?" I asked her. I think she was startled by my question.

"Cato told you about that, didn't he?" she asked me and I nodded. "Very well, let's just say that I felt frustrated when I lost my best friend, and by my own hands, but to be honest, it's just for a while, I didn't even feel guilty about it at all. It's because I reminded myself that what I did was just right. I need to survive so I have to kill him. All of us were just a piece of the games, and I'm sure everybody knows that. It's just that not everybody seems to understand."

"So you didn't feel guilty about it?"

"I didn't, because I just did what's right. And this time, you should too," she said, looking at me. "Because it's for your own good."

"So, we're just a piece of the games, and I should do what's right, in order to survive," I said and Enobaria nodded. Somehow, things are getting so much clearer to me right now. I should win, and I will. Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin…


	8. Let The Games Begin

**Chapter 8: Let The Games Begin**

**Clove**

Before I knew it, I'm already in the launch room, standing on the circular metal plate, with Lance still clenching my hands

"Remember what Enobaria said," he said to me. "Kill as many as you can during the bloodbath. Don't hesitate." I nodded determinedly. "Good luck Clove."

And then a glass cylinder is lowering around me, breaking our handhold, cutting him off from me. The cylinder begins to rise. For maybe fifteen seconds, I'm in darkness and then I can feel the metal plate pushing me out of the cylinder, into the open air. For a moment, my eyes are dazzled by the bright sunlight and I'm conscious only of a strong wind with the hopeful smell of pine trees. Then I hear the legendary announcer, Claudius Templesmith, as his voice booms all around me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin!"

Sixty seconds. That's how long we're required to stand on our metal circles before the sound of a gong releases us. I find myself positioning my feet to run, toward the Cornucopia. Moments later and the gong rings out. I run towards the Cornucopia as fast as I can.

I have spotted Katniss Everdeen fighting for a backpack with the boy from District 9. As soon as I got hold of a pack of knives, I threw one through the boy's back and then he coughs, splattering Katniss' face with blood. She staggers back and the boy slips to the ground. She spotted me as I run towards her. I can see fear in her eyes. She's scared of me. She immediately slings the pack over one shoulder and run full-speed for the woods as I threw a knife towards her. She reflexively hikes the pack up to protect her head. The blade lodges in the pack. I didn't continue pursuing her and participated instead in the massacre.

**Cato**

After the bloodbath, I met up with the others, which includes Clove, Marvel, Glimmer and Rica. Kevin was unfortunately killed during the bloodbath, along with less than a dozen tributes. Rica is still looking down on Kevin's lifeless body on the ground.

"I'm sorry about him," Marvel said as he patted her on the shoulder.

"We need to go," I said to them. "So that the hovercraft can collect the bodies."

"Unless you want to follow him wherever he is now," Clove said.

"No. Not yet," Rica said.

We made our way to the woods, hunting for victims. Hours have passed and we got exhausted. We decided to take a rest and sat on the floor. But of course we're still alert. Minutes later and I saw someone running away from us. He probably sensed our presence in this part of the woods while traveling on his own and decided to run for it. I quickly stand and pursue him with the others following me. We managed to reach him in time, with Clove pinning him on the ground, and recognized him as Peeta Mellark. We didn't kill him immediately.

"Please, don't kill me yet," he pleaded. "I can help you."

"Really? How can you help us? Tell me, lover boy," Clove asked him dangerously, still pinning him on the ground. I can see hatred in her eyes. Of course, she hated District 12 from the start.

"I can lead you to Katniss," he answered. I looked at Clove and the others.

"Are you sure?" Glimmer asked him disbelievingly. "You're going to let us kill the girl on fire?"

"And how can we be sure that you are up to that task?" I asked him.

"I know her well," he answered. Clove gets off of him at once.

"Let's keep him," Clove said. "The most important thing is that he can lead us to fire girl. Once his task is over, we'll kill him, he doesn't stand a chance against the five of us, the odds will definitely be in our favor." We looked at each other for a while and agreed to it.

It's late afternoon when we begin to hear the cannons. Each shot represents a dead tribute. One… two… three… on and on until they reach eleven. Eleven dead in all. Thirteen left to play.

Night has just come when we hear the anthem that proceeds the death recap. I can see the seal of the capitol, which appears to be floating in the sky. The anthem fades out and the sky goes dark for a moment. Then the faces of the eleven dead tributes begin to show up.

We continued hunting for victims during the night when we decided to take a rest and sleep a little. Marvel volunteered to take the watch. I lie down on the floor using my backpack as a pillow. Glimmer lie down beside me, Rica lie down close to us and Clove sat beside Marvel. I just closed my eyes and didn't bother looking at the two of them. I want to sleep beside Clove and wrap my arms around her. I want to protect her, keep her alive only to die by my hands. I want to hold on to her but now she's holding on to someone else.

I was woken up by Marvel after a few hours of sleep. The sky is still dark, but I can feel the first signs of dawn approaching. We ate a little bit of our food before hunting for victims. As we combed the woods, we spotted a small fire not too far away from us. We made our way towards the fire starter as fast as we could. We're on her before she can escape. We recognized her as the girl from District 8. She pleads and pleads but I stuck my sword on her stomach which earned me an agonized scream from her.

"Twelve down and eleven to go," I said to the others which gets a round of appreciative hoots.

"Let's check her for supplies," Clove suggested and checked the girl for supplies. "Nothing good." She said moments later.

"Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking," I said and we walked on.

**Clove**

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" Marvel suddenly said as we stopped walking.

"I'd say yes," I agreed to him. "Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately."

"Unless she isn't dead," Marvel said.

"She's dead. I stuck her myself," Cato said fiercely, looking at Marvel.

"Then where's the cannon?" Marvel asked him. They're looking fiercely at each other right now.

"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done," I said as I looked at the others.

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice," Glimmer agreed to me.

"I said she's dead!" Cato said fiercely to us.

"Cato, are you an idiot?" I said loudly to him. "If she is then we should've heard a cannon by now." He's looking at me fiercely. "Cato, grow up!"

"Clove, how dare you say such mean things to him?" Glimmer said to me, holding one of Cato's arms, the latter still looking at me fiercely. "Considering the fact that you're district partners."

"Come on. He deserves it," I said to her. She glared at me and I glared back at her.

"That's enough," Rica said. "We're not supposed to fight with each other yet, right?"

"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on!" Peeta said, silencing us.

"Go on, then, lover boy," Cato said. "See for yourself." Peeta made his way back to the girl.

We stayed silent until Peeta gets out of earshot, and then we used hushed voices.

"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?" Glimmer said.

"Let him tag along. What's the harm? And he's handy with that knife," Marvel said.

"Besides, he's our best chance of finding her," I said.

"Why? You think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?" Rica asked.

"She might have," I said. "Seemed pretty simple minded to me. Every time I think about her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke."

"Wish we knew how she got that eleven," Glimmer said.

"Bet you lover boy knows," I said.

The sound of Peeta returning silences us once again.

"Was she dead?" Cato asked him.

"No. But she is now," he answered. Just then, the cannon fires. "Ready to move on?"

We set off at a run just as dawn begins to break, and birdsong fills the air.

**Cato**

We continued hunting for victims in the woods. But we haven't found a single one ever since the girl from District 8. We decided to go to the lake and refill our water bottles. It's late afternoon when we reached our destination. I am sitting in front of the lake, adding droplets of iodine in my water bottle to purify the water inside it when someone placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked around and saw Clove.

"Cato, I'm sorry about earlier," she said softly as she sat beside me. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. I just…"

"I know," I interrupted. "You just want to back Marvel up."

"That's not what I'm trying to say," she said. Before she gets to say anything else, I stood up and walked away from her. I don't want to talk to her right now. Maybe some other time.

Night falls, the anthem plays, and high in the sky I see the picture of the girl from District 8. We set a camp some place near the lake and I volunteered to take the watch.

Once again, we combed the woods for victims the next day. But no luck, we haven't found a single one. We decided to take a rest and sleep a little before night falls, with Clove taking the watch, and continue hunting for victims at night.

I'm still fast asleep when I felt someone waking me up. I open my eyes to see Clove.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, sitting up, gathering my supplies.

"Smoke," she said as she and the others gathered their supplies as well. After that, we run.

The heat is horrible, but worse than the heat is the smoke, which threatens to suffocate me at any moment. I pull the top of my shirt up over my nose for protection. I know this is Gamemaker-made. Things have been too quiet today. No deaths, perhaps no fights at all. The audience in the capitol will be getting bored, claiming that these games are verging on dullness. This is the one thing the games must not do. This fire is designed to drive us tributes together.

We managed to get away from the fire after minutes of running to safety. But we still haven't met any other tribute as night begins to fall. We set another camp and sleep for the night with Rica taking the watch.

**Clove**

We woke up the next day and ate some of our food before going to the lake and refill our water bottles. As usual, we combed the woods for victims but it's not until late afternoon when we heard sounds of someone splashing on the water. We followed the sound and we spotted her, Katniss Everdeen, making her way out of the pond and running away from us. Finally, she showed up. Now is the time to kill her. We pursue her until she picks a high tree and begins to climb. She's fast. By the time we've reached the base of the trunk, she's twenty feet up. For a moment, we stop and survey one another.

"How's everything with you?" she called down cheerfully. This takes us aback.

"Well enough," Cato said to her. "Yourself?"

"It's been a bit warm for my taste," she said. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come up?"

"Think I will," Cato said.

"Here, take this, Cato," Glimmer said and she offers him the silver bow and sheath of arrows.

"No," Cato said, pushing away the bow. "I'll do better with my sword."

Cato begins to climb the tree and Katniss begins to climb again. Moments later and I hear a crack and Cato fell down the tree. Glimmer then scales the tree until the branches begin to crack under her feet and then has the good sense to stop. She tries to shoot Katniss and it's immediately evident that she's incompetent with a bow. One of the arrows gets lodged in the tree near Katniss. She seized it and waved it teasingly above her head. I really hate her. She's making us look foolish.

"Let her stay up there," Peeta suggested. We looked at him. "It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning." We looked at each other and just agreed to it. We set a camp under the tree where Katniss is.

Night falls and we gather around a fire. Cato and Glimmer sat beside each other. Glimmer is holding one of Cato's arms and resting her head on his shoulder. Cato looks as if he's enjoying this moment so much. I just looked away from them and examined my knives. I'll be more than willing to throw these to the two of them.

**Cato**

I see Clove examining her knives while Marvel is looking at her admiringly. She looked at me and I quickly looked away from her though I want to be with her right now.

"Clove, what's that on your neck?" Marvel suddenly asked her. I looked at them.

"I don't know," she answered, placing her hand on her neck.

"Is that a bruise?" Marvel asked her again.

"Maybe," she answered. "Maybe it got scratched when we were chasing fire girl."

"Here," Marvel said as he opened a small container where I'm sure medicine is placed. He dipped his fingers inside it and coated Clove's neck with the medicine. He's looking at Clove's neck with desire. Right now, I want to kill him. And then I saw Clove, her expression tells me that she's enjoying his touch. "There."

"Thank you," Clove said to him. "Wait, Marvel. You have something on your forehead as well." she dipped her fingers inside Marvel's medicine container and coated Marvel's bruise with the medicine.

"Thank you Clove," Marvel said to her.

"No problem," she said. I was so angry I clenched my fists, suddenly realizing that I'm holding one of Glimmer's hands.

"Ouch," she said as she lets go of my hand.

"Sorry," I said to her.

I was raging inside and I couldn't control myself. I want to be with Clove. I want to be where Marvel is right now. I have to admit that I'm jealous, really jealous, right now. If I have the chance, I will kill Marvel right before his eyes.

**Clove**

We decided to sleep for the night and Glimmer volunteered to take the watch this time. I fell asleep quickly because I was so tired and fatigue overcame me.

The next day I have woken up to a full-scale tracker jacker attack. Someone must have dropped a nest right at us, and I'll bet anything it was Katniss.

"To the lake! To the lake!" I shouted at the others. We made our way to the lake as fast as we could. I can hear Glimmer shrieking, calling to us for help but, of course, no one returns. The poison from the stingers makes me wobbly. I've been stung many times but I still managed to go to the lake. I submerged myself in the water, just in case any wasps are still on my trail. Moments later, a cannon fires. I'm guessing either Glimmer or Rica has just died. Then a second cannon fires. Maybe both Glimmer and Rica have just died. Only me, Cato and Marvel have made it here. How about Peeta? What happened to him?

I saw Cato making his way back to our camp. It's either to go back to kill fire girl or get our weapons or both. Be careful Cato, I don't want to lose you, yet.


	9. We'll Win This Thing Together

**Chapter 9: We'll Win This Thing Together**

**Cato**

I made my way back to our camp either to kill fire girl, if ever she's still there, or get our weapons. I'm running as fast as I can when I heard a boy screaming.

"What are you still doing here?" He sounded like lover boy. What a traitor. I followed his voice as fast as I could, knowing that the one he's screaming to is fire girl. "Are you mad?" I'm going to kill him. "Get up! Get up!" I trusted him because Clove trusted him. And now I know that we shouldn't have. He's been fooling us right from the start. "Run!" He screams. "Run!"

I slash my way through the brush. I see them. Fire girl is holding tightly to Glimmer's bow and arrows. The latter's lifeless body is still lying on the ground. And then fire girl runs, as I got hold of lover boy. I cut his leg using my sword deep enough for him not to use it well. After that I felt dizzy, probably because of the venom of the tracker jackers, and passed out.

**Clove**

I think it's late afternoon when I regained my consciousness. Half of my body is still submerged in the water. Marvel is beside me, but Cato is nowhere to be found. I quickly get out of the water and made my way back to our camp, hoping that I will find him, alright and alive.

And then I saw him, lying unconscious on the ground. I run towards him as fast as I can. I kneel beside him and shake his body, waking him up. I saw the tracker jacker nest near us. It is nothing but an empty shell. The wasps have vanished. I also saw blood on the ground. Our supplies are still here. I get my backpack, knowing that there's medicine in it for tracker jacker stings. I applied it on Cato's wounds. I'll just stay here with him until he wakes up. If someone attacks us, I'm ready, I have my knives with me. Don't worry Cato, I'll protect you. No one else can kill you, but me.

**Cato**

I think it's early in the morning when I wake up and regained my consciousness. I looked around and see that I'm still in our camp. I can still see the empty tracker jacker nest near me. Our supplies are still here. And then I saw Clove, sitting beside me, her smile is really visible because of the sunlight.

"Good morning Cato," she said cheerfully. I smiled at her. "It's good to know that you're awake." I sit up.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked her.

"A day," she answered.

"Are we the only ones left?"

"I think Marvel's still down by the lake," she said. "Anyway, what happened here?"

"I saw lover boy screaming for fire girl to get away," I said. "I cut his leg deep enough for him not to use it well."

"So we were wrong to trust him," she said.

"Yes," I said.

And then we heard people making their way towards us. We armed ourselves. As they got near enough, we recognized the taller one as Marvel.

"Clove, thank goodness you're okay," he said. "I know I'll find you here." Clove smiled at him.

"Who is he?" I asked him, pointing my head on the other boy's direction.

"Oh, he's Terrenz, from District 3," he answered. "I found him roaming down by the lake."

"Why didn't you just kill him?" I asked him.

"Oh, he said he can help us."

"How?" Clove asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I can reactivate the mines surrounding the Cornucopia," Terrenz answered her. "You can use it to protect your supplies." I looked at Clove and she nodded.

"Ok, you can stay," I said. "Let's gather the supplies from the Cornucopia and bring them down by the lake."

"And you," Clove said, looking dangerously at Terrenz. "Make sure to do your job well." He nodded, terrified.

We made our way to the Cornucopia and gather the supplies from it. We bring the supplies down by the lake while Terrenz dig for the mines that were buried around the Cornucopia. He buried it around our supplies down by the lake, trapping us inside. We finished our work before night falls.

"The mines are reactivated," Terrenz informed us.

"So how are we going to get out of here without being blown up?" I asked him.

"I left a path which is safe for you to walk on," he replied and we nodded at him.

Night falls and we decided to sleep. I volunteered to take the watch. Clove must have been very tired, seeing her falling asleep quickly. Marvel and Terrenz lie on either side of her. Clove, I wish we could just escape from this game together.

**Clove**

The next day, we ate some of our food before hunting for victims in the woods. We left Terrenz down by the lake to guard our supplies. It's good to leave a guard behind, because someone stupid might not notice the presence of the mines and got himself/herself blown up with our supplies. We can't risk that.

We spotted the boy from District 10, limping as fast as he can away from us. But his crippled foot is really a disadvantage. We caught up with him and killed him easily. A cannon fires and we continued combing the woods for more victims. For all I know, there are only nine of us left to play.

Before night falls, we made our way back to the lake. The anthem plays and I can see the picture of the limping boy from District 10. I can't wait to see fire girl's and lover boy's faces floating in the sky too. We sleep for the night with Marvel taking the watch.

Nothing interesting happened the next day. We combed the woods for victims as usual but no luck, we haven't found a single one. We ended up going back to the lake before night falls. There are no deaths today. Where is fire girl? Where is lover boy? I can't wait to kill them.

The next day, we ate some of our food before combing the woods for victims as usual. And then Marvel suddenly stood up and pointed his finger to the woods.

"Smoke," he informed us. We quickly gathered some supplies and armed ourselves. Before we go to the woods, an argument breaks out. It concerns whether or not Terrenz should stay or accompany us.

"He's coming," Cato said. "We need him in the woods, and his job's done here anyway. No one can touch those supplies."

"What about lover boy?" Marvel asked.

"I keep telling you, forget about him," Cato said. "I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet. At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us."

"Ok," Marvel said.

"Come on," Cato said, thrusting a spear into Terrenz' hands. We head off in the direction of the fire. "When we find her, I kill her in my own way, and no one interferes." He added as we enter the woods.

We run as fast as we can to locate the fire starter. Moments later and we found a campfire, but found no one probably responsible for it. We searched the area surrounding the fire but found no one. We spotted another campfire as we searched and searched the woods, but found no one probably responsible for it as well. I think this is a trap.

"Cato, let's just go back to the lake," I said.

"Why? You think this is a trap?" he asked me.

"Yes. We need to get out of here," I said.

The others agreed and we made our way back to the lake as fast as we could. And then an explosion startles us. The impact knocks the wind out of me. But then I realized that it came from the lake, where our supplies are placed.

"Let's get going," I shouted at the others.

We made our way back to the lake as fast as we could. The ground still shakes with explosions. An acrid smoke fills the air. After about a minute, the ground stops vibrating. Moments later we arrived at the lake and saw the wreckage. Cato takes out his anger on the smoking remains by kicking open various containers. Marvel and I pokes around in the mess, looking for anything to salvage, but there's nothing. And then I saw Cato, turning to Terrenz and shouting at him. Terrenz only has time to turn and run before Cato catches him in a headlock from behind. I can see the muscles ripple in Cato's arms as he sharply jerks the boy's head to the side. Marvel and I made our way towards them as a cannon fires.

"Cato, calm down," I said as I hold on to one of his arms, Marvel holding on to the other. We tried to calm him down but he kept on saying he wants to return to the woods.

"Cato, whoever set off the explosions is dead," I said. "The tribute who blew up the supplies was killed doing it. If there was a cannon shot, it could have been easily lost in the subsequent explosions."

He walked away and we followed him. We retire to the far side of the lake to allow the game makers to retrieve Terrenz' body. And we wait. A hovercraft appears and takes his dead body.

Minutes later we return to the woods. We decided to take different paths and meet up down by the lake before night falls.

I am walking in the woods, hunting for victims, when I heard a scream. Could it be Katniss? No. it's a child's scream, a young girl's scream, there's no one in the arena capable of making that sound except Rue, the little girl from District 11. And now I'm running, in pursuit of a victim, and then there's another high-pitched cry, this time, saying a particular name.

"Katniss! Katniss!"

And then there's another shout.

"Rue! Rue! I'm coming!"

So the two of them are allies. I followed their voices as fast as I could. Minutes have passed and I heard a cannon fires. Could it be Katniss? Rue? Maybe Cato or Marvel found them and attacked them. I continued running in the woods, hoping to find them. And then another cannon fires. Who was it this time? It could be anyone. Could it be Cato? I hope not. I don't want to lose him, yet.

**Cato**

I ran in the woods as fast as I could searching for Clove after hearing the screams and the cannons. Right now, I can't relax. Maybe splitting up wasn't a good idea after all. I don't care about Marvel, but if something bad happened to Clove, I think I can't go any further. I promised myself that I will protect her, only to die by my hands.

Moments later and I finally found her. She's looking down at the ground thinking hard. Thank goodness she's alright. I made my way towards her.

"Clove," I said. She looked at me. I don't know if she's relieved to see me or not. "What are you thinking hard about?" she looked down at the ground again. I looked down at the ground too and saw blood. I also saw a net near us, drenched in blood as well. I wonder what happened here.

"Let's just go back to the lake," Clove suggested.

"Ok," I agreed. "Let's go."

We managed to go back to the lake before night falls. The anthem plays and I saw Marvel's picture floating in the sky, followed by Rue, the little girl from District 11. So Marvel must have heard the screams and followed it as well. For all I know, it was fire girl and the little girl who were screaming. Rue was screaming for Katniss to help her. Marvel must have gotten there first and killed Rue. Katniss probably avenged her death by killing Marvel. For all I know, she has Glimmer's bow and arrows. She must be very good at it, to kill someone like Marvel. And that's how she got that eleven.

I looked at Clove. Is she hurt because of Marvel's death? I won't be surprised if she is.

"So, there are only six of us left," she said.

"Yes," I said. "And five more to go." She looked at me.

"Five more to go for me," she said dangerously.

Before I get to answer back, I hear the trumpets and listen up in anticipation. Occasionally, there will be trumpets followed by an announcement. Usually, this will be a call to a feast.

Claudius Templesmith's voice booms down from overhead, congratulating the six of us who remain. But he is not inviting us to a feast. He's saying something very confusing.

"There's been a rule change in the games. Under the new rule, both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive."

Claudius pauses, as if he knows we're not getting it, and repeats the change again.

The news sinks in. Two tributes can win this year. If they're from the same district. Both can live. Both of us can live.

Before I can stop myself, I put Clove in a very tight hug. It took her seconds before she gets to hug me back. One thing is certain, we'll win this thing together…


	10. With You

**Chapter 10: With You**

**Clove**

I was a bit frustrated when I saw Marvel's picture floating in the sky. He's been my friend ever since our first training day and it's really hard to ignore his death completely. Well, at least he was killed by somebody else, not by me. And I bet anything it was Katniss Everdeen.

My frustration leaked away when I heard the trumpets and Claudius Templesmith's voice, announcing that two tributes can win this year if they're from the same district. At first I was shocked, by the sudden rule change and Cato's hug, confirming that what I heard was correct. But then I realized that I felt glad, glad that I won't be killing him anymore, and glad of feeling his body against me, knowing that he's feeling the same as me, glad that he won't be killing me anymore. With that, I found myself hugging him back.

Cato and I decided to sleep for the night near the lake. We agreed to have equal sleeping times. Cato volunteered to take the first watch so that I can sleep for half of the night and he'll wake me up when it's my turn to take the watch and his time to sleep.

I have fallen asleep quickly. I think it's because my mind is peaceful right now, not thinking about Cato and I fighting for victory as the games end, but with both of us coming home as victors. At last, my mind has found peace.

I've woken up to take the second watch and watched Cato sleep beside me. I'm sure both of us will be crowned as victors. We make a very good team. The odds will definitely be on our favor. I wonder what will happen to the two of us after the games. Will we stay as close as before, or even more? But of course, I'm not hoping for too much. I'd rather be his friend forever than not being in his life any longer.

**Cato**

The next day, we ate a little bit of our food before going into the woods and hunt for the other tributes. We should eat only what we need to survive because we only have a limited amount of food right now. Thinking about our supplies being blown up into pieces really makes me want to kill fire girl so badly. She and the little girl were responsible for it.

After eating, we refill our water bottles from the lake and purify it using iodine. After that, we made our way into the woods and hunt for the other tributes. There are only six of us left. Me, Clove, the foxface girl from District 5, Thresh, the boy from District 11 and both tributes from District 12. But no luck, we haven't found a single one of them.

We decided to take a rest before night falls. We're sitting on the floor when the sound of the trumpets startles us. We're on our feet in a flash, not wanting to miss a syllable. Claudius Templesmith is inviting us to a feast.

"Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately. Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."

**Clove**

After hearing the announcement, Cato and I made our way somewhere near the Cornucopia, near enough for it to be visible in front of us, and formulated a plan. According to this plan, I will go and get our backpack from the Cornucopia while Cato scouts the area for hiding tributes. After planning, we decided to sleep a little for the night to be prepared for tomorrow. We agreed to have equal sleeping times again but this time, I volunteered to take the first watch. Hours have passed and I wake Cato up for my time to sleep and his turn to take the watch. I've fallen asleep minutes later.

I felt Cato waking me up and sit up immediately beside him. Dawn is approaching but I still don't see the backpacks. Cato and I just sit and waited.

"Cato, what if fire girl shows up?" I asked him moments later.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll take care of her."

"Cato, let me have her," I said and he looked at me. "I know you want her as much as I do but please, let me have her. I promise I'd give the audience a good show."

He looked at me for a moment and then said, "Ok, you can have her." I smiled with relief. "But be careful. She's handy with the bow." I nodded. "Clove." He said as he looked me in the eye.

"Yes?"

"We'll win this thing together right?" he said.

"Right," I said, and he rested his head on my shoulder. I was startled by his sudden actions but I didn't push him away. Feeling his body close to me really makes me know that I'm safe, that I'm protected. We just stayed in this position until there's a disturbance on the plain.

Just as the first ray of sun glints off the gold Cornucopia, the ground before the mouth of the horn splits in two and a round table with a snowy white cloth rises into the arena. On the table sit four backpacks, two large black ones with the numbers 2 and 11, a medium-sized green one with the number 5 and a tiny orange one marked with a 12.

"Be careful Clove," Cato said to me. "Don't worry, I'll be near." He said as he run away.

The table has just clicked into place when a figure darts out of the Cornucopia, snags the green backpack, and speeds off. I recognized her as the foxface girl from District 5. Leave it to her to come up with such a clever and risky idea. The rest of us are still poised around the plain, sizing up the situation, and she's got hers.

Seconds later and I saw fire girl sprinting for the table. I run towards her and threw a knife on her right side but she deflects it with her bow. She sends an arrow straight at my heart but I turn just enough to avoid a fatal hit, but the point punctures my upper left arm. It's a good thing I throw with my right but it's enough to slow me down for a few moments, having to pull the arrow from my arm and take in the severity of the wound.

I saw her at the table now, her fingers closing over the tiny orange backpack. I send another knife at her. She's turning to fire again when my second knife catches her in the forehead. It slices above her right eyebrow, opening a gash that sends a gush running down her face, blinding her eye. She staggers backward but still managed to send her readied arrow at me but she misses. And then I slam into her, knocking her flat on her back, pinning her shoulders to the ground with my knees.

"Where's your boyfriend, District 12?" I asked her. "Still hanging on?"

"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," she snarled at me. "Peeta!" She screams at the top of her lungs.

I jam my fist into her windpipe, very effectively cutting off her voice. I whip my head from side to side, but since no Peeta appears to save her, I turn back to her.

"Liar," I said with a grin. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for lover boy? Too bad he'll never get it."

I open my jacket. It's lined with an impressive array of knives. I carefully select an almost dainty-looking number with a cruel, curved blade. "I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show." She's struggling now in an effort to unseat me, but it's no use.

"Forget it, District 12. We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally… what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of lover boy. How does that sound?" I asked her. "Now, where to start?"

She attempts to bite my hand but I grab the hair on the top of her head, forcing her back to the ground. "I think… I think we'll start with your mouth." She clamps her teeth together as I teasingly trace the outline of her lips with the tip of my blade.

"Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow lover boy one last kiss?" I asked her. "All right then. Let's get started."

The tip of my blade opens the first cut at her lip, and then some great force yanks me from her body and before I knew it, I was screaming. I am dangling a foot off the ground, imprisoned in Thresh's arms. I remember him as big, but he seems more massive, more powerful than I even recall. If anything, he seems to have gained weight in the arena. He flips me around and slams me hard on the Cornucopia, still imprisoned in his arms.

"What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" he shouted at me.

"No! No, it wasn't me!" I said helplessly. Right now, I can't breathe properly. And then he flings me onto the ground so forcefully my whole body hurts.

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her?" he shouted at me once again. "You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?"

"No! No, I...," I managed to say. Right now, I need help. "Cato!" I screech. "Cato!"

"Clove!" I hear Cato's answer, and I know that he's near enough to help me, to save me. And then I see it, the stone, about the size of a small loaf of bread, in Thresh's hand. Right now, I'm crying, not so sure anymore if I can survive this or not. "Clove!" Cato's voice is much nearer now. I can tell by the pain in it that he sees me on the ground.

Before Thresh brings the rock down against me, someone dragged him away from me and I see Cato, fighting with him, as I managed to sit up. I also see Katniss running away from us with her backpack. I threw a knife at her but it missed her by inches and lodged in one of the trees. I want to follow her and kill her but right now, I feel so weak I can't even breathe and sit up properly. At least I stopped crying. I watch Cato fighting with Thresh and moments later, a cannon fires and I found Thresh, dead on the ground.

Cato made his way towards me and kneels beside me. He helped me sit up and then I said, "I'm sorry Cato. I'm sorry I disappointed you. I was careless, I…," before I get to say anything else, he wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest as I found myself locked up in his arms.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have followed the foxface girl. I should have guarded you right from the start." I close my eyes as I hear his heart beating inside his chest. "I'm sorry Clove."

**Cato**

Clove and I get our backpack from the Cornucopia and made our way to the lake for the game makers to collect Thresh's body. We refilled our water bottles from the lake and stayed there until afternoon, resting and eating our remaining food. It looks like Clove and I have to hunt for food starting tomorrow. We're sitting in front of the lake when I noticed Clove's wound on her upper left arm.

"What happened to your arm?" I asked her as I hold her wounded arm and examined it.

"Fire girl shot an arrow at me," she answered me.

"It's a good thing I have medicine right here," I said as I grabbed my backpack and get the medicine. She took it from me but I quickly get it back from her. "Let me apply this to you."

"Whatever," she said irritably, taking off her jacket. She began raising her shirt sleeve up and I can see her wound under it. I coated it with medicine and feel her soft skin.

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

"I feel so much better," she answered, smiling at me. I smiled back at her. "Anyway, what's in our backpack?" Oh, yes, our backpack, I totally forgot about it.

"Let's see," I said as I grabbed and opened it. We found two body armors inside it, probably to deflect arrows thrown at us. They probably think that Katniss and her bow and arrows are the only threat left in the games. Suddenly, the sky became darker and darker. I think a storm is about to come.

"Clove, I think it's best for us to find a suitable place for a storm," I suggested.

"Right," she said, standing up.

"Let's wear these body armors first, before going into the woods," I said, standing up as well.

And we wear our body armors and go look for a cave or something in the woods. We managed to find a cave before night falls and settled inside it. There's a clap of thunder, and I see lightning electrify the sky. Rain falls and the temperature drops rapidly and soon I'm chilled to the bone. We didn't hear the anthem plays but saw Thresh's picture floating in the sky.

"Cato," Clove suddenly said. "You have bruises all over your body."

"It must be because of my fight with Thresh," I said. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Give me the medicine," she ordered.

"Clove, I told you, I'm fine."

"I said, give me the medicine," she insisted so I get the medicine from my backpack and handed it to her. "Take off your jacket." I hesitated. "Take it off now." She insisted so I did what she told me to do and she coated my bruises with medicine. I also take off my body armor and my shirt and Clove continued coating my bruises with medicine. Yes, it's freezing, especially with my top off, but feeling her touch really brings warmth to my body, and that's good enough for me.

Suddenly, we saw a parachute floating down from the sky. Clove steps out of the cave and brings it inside. We opened it to find food. We ate some of it and decided to sleep for the night.

"Trust me, the game makers will allow us a peaceful night," I said. "And no tribute is going to attack us in this weather. There's still a storm going on. Clove, just relax."

"Ok," she agreed. "Let's sleep." I smiled at her.

**Clove**

I found myself lying on the cold, hard floor of the cave beside Cato, shivering because of the coldness I'm feeling right now. I can't sleep. Yes, I have my blanket on me but the cold is really chilling me to the bone.

"Can't sleep?" Cato suddenly asked me.

"It's freezing," I said.

"Move close to me and I'll keep you warm," he said.

I have no choice. I quickly moved close to him and he wrapped his arms around me, making me feel warmer than before. I managed to sleep moments later.

I woke up the next day locked up in Cato's arms. He's still fast asleep. I stand up and steps out of the cave. The storm was over. I turned to Cato. He is sitting up already.

"Good morning," I greeted him cheerfully.

"Good morning," he greeted me back.

I sat beside him and we ate our remaining food. After eating, we put on our body armors and go out of the cave to hunt for the other tributes. I wonder how they managed to survive the storm.

It's early in the afternoon when we decided to split up. We will hunt for food since we don't have any anymore.

"Just don't go too far, in case you need help," Cato said to me and I nodded. After that, we head off.

The woods come alive with animal sounds. I allow myself to drift farther away, and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel. I decide it's enough for now. As I travel a short distance back to look for Cato, a cannon fires. I run, abandoning the dead animals, as fast as I can, hoping that I would find Cato, alright and alive, hoping that it wasn't him who died.

"Cato!" I call out in panic. "Cato!" And then I heard him, calling out my name. "Clove!" He's alive. Right now he's looking for me. "Clove!" I can tell that he's not that far away. "Cato!"

And then I saw him, running towards me. "Clove!"

I run towards him as fast as I can. "Cato!"

As soon as we got hold of each other, our lips met.


	11. The Victors

**Chapter 11: The Victors**

**Clove**

Before I knew it, Cato was kissing me and I was kissing him back, his hands around my waist and my hands on his chest, our eyes closed. I never knew we would end up like this. I can feel him holding me tightly and pulling me close to him. Right now, he's kissing me passionately and I'm kissing him back. I slowly placed my hands around his neck and enjoyed this moment. We kissed passionately to our hearts' contents. Moments later and we broke the kiss. I opened my eyes and so did he. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment and then he hugs me tightly. I hug him back.

"I heard the cannon," he said and I can feel his breath on my neck. "I thought it was you."

"I thought it was you too," I said. "You had me worrying."

"No matter what happens, we should never ever split up again," he said and I nodded.

Right now, I know that he cares for me and I also know that I care for him too. I don't know about the kiss but I know that we did it so willingly and passionately, something that we didn't expect. But one thing is certain, I'm falling for him, and I can't stop myself anymore.

**Cato**

I wasn't planning on kissing Clove, and I know that she wasn't planning on kissing me either. I really don't know what made us do it. All I know is that I enjoyed it, I enjoyed kissing her, and I know that she enjoyed it too, kissing me back and all. How I wish we could do it again.

Seconds after breaking our hug, we saw the hovercraft appears a hundred yards or so away. What's left of the foxface girl's emaciated body is lifted into the air. I can see the red glint of her hair in the sunlight. They've probably featured Clove and I kissing before featuring her. We decided to hunt for the two others, fire girl and lover boy, and end this thing once and for all, so we could go home, together.

Night falls and we decided to go to the lake, hoping that fire girl and lover boy were there. As we're walking, we heard a certain noise, like wolves. My eyes scan the woods just in time to see the first creature leap onto the plain.

"Run!" I shouted at Clove as I turned away and we run for it, with no thought of anything but to save ourselves. As I'm turning away, I see another half dozen join it.

Muttations. No question about it. I've never seen these mutts, but they're no natural-born animals. They resemble huge wolves, but what wolf lands and then balances easily on its hind legs? What wolf waves the rest of the pack forward with its front paw as though it had a wrist? These things I can see at a distance. Up close, I'm sure their more menacing attributes will be revealed.

After minutes of running, we reached the lake. I can see fire girl, poised to shoot, and lover boy, wielding his knife. We run straight for them. Fire girl shot an arrow at me and hits my chest but it simply falls aside, probably because of the body armor I'm wearing. We made a beeline for the Cornucopia and I saw fire girl following us, with lover boy limping after her.

"Climb!" I yelled at Clove and I helped her get on the Cornucopia. After that, I climbed on it as well, with Clove pulling me up for help.

"Can they climb it?" Clove asked me, gasping to catch her breath.

"I think not," I answered her. We lie on our side at the very top of the horn. Fire girl is already on the Cornucopia, pulling lover boy up, but Clove and I are still too preoccupied with the mutts and didn't attack them yet. Then fire girl shot an arrow at a good-size mutt with silky waves of blond fur.

And then lover boy suddenly spoke, "Katniss?"

"It's her!" Fire girl gets out.

"Who?" asks lover boy. "What is it Katniss?"

"It's them. It's all of them. The others. Rue and Foxface and… all of the other tributes," she chokes out. And that answers my question earlier. After that, they began killing the mutts. "Kill it, Peeta! Kill it!"

Moments later and I regained my feet. I jerked lover boy from fire girl's side, almost at the lip of the horn, holding him in some kind of headlock, cutting off his air. Fire girl then aims one of her last two arrows at my head. I just laugh.

"Shoot me and he goes down with me," I said to her. And right now, she's thinking hard.

As if in a last-ditch effort, lover boy raises his fingers, dripping with blood from his leg, up to my arm. Instead of trying to wrestle his way free, I saw his forefinger veers off and makes a deliberate X on the back of my hand. Before realizing what it means, Clove lunges herself towards fire girl and pushed her out of the way. She must have realized what the two were planning or she was just engrossed to kill fire girl. She managed to pin fire girl on the floor with her knife threatening to slit her throat. I quickly turned around with lover boy still locked up in my arms and pushed him down to the ground.

"Peeta!" Fire girl screams at the top of her lungs. We hear him hit, the air leaving his body on impact, and then the mutts attack him. Seconds later and a cannon fires. I watch Clove threatening fire girl on the floor.

**Clove**

"Don't worry girl on fire," I said dangerously at Katniss, still pinning her on the floor. "You'll be with him soon enough."

And then I was startled. She managed to unseat me, because of anger, I think, for Peeta's death, and was about to push me down to the ground when Cato drags her away from me and pushed her down to the ground first. I am sitting up on the floor and Cato suddenly locked me up in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked me and I nodded.

We heard fire girl's agonized scream for a moment and then a cannon fires.

A hole opens in the plain and as if on cue, the remaining mutts bound into it, disappearing as the earth closes above them. We wait, with me still locked up in Cato's arms, for the hovercraft to take fire girl's and lover boy's remains, for the trumpets of victory that should follow. Moments later and the hovercraft appears and takes their body. Now they will take us. Now we can go home.

The frantic voice of Claudius Templesmith shouts above us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Cato and Clove! I give you… the tributes from District 2!"

The hovercraft materializes overhead and two ladders drop. We stood up and made our way up.

**The Interview…**

**Clove**

I'm wearing a strapless pink gown, pink heels, about 5 inches, and silver accessories. I'm also wearing my hair down, in preparation for the interview. Lance, me and my prep team take the elevator to the level where we trained. It's customary for the victor and his or her support team to rise from beneath the stage. I find myself in a poorly lit area under the stage. A brand-new metal plate has been installed to transport me upward. You can still see small piles of sawdust, smell fresh paint. Lance and my prep team peel off to change into their own costumes and take their positions, leaving me alone. In the gloom, I see a makeshift wall about ten yards away and assume Cato's behind it.

Moments later and the anthem booms, in my ears, and then I hear Caesar Flickerman greeting the audience. The crowd breaks into applause as the prep teams are presented. I imagine my prep team bouncing around and taking ridiculous, bobbing bows. Then Archie's introduced. Then Lance and Cassandra. Brutus' and Enobaria's appearance brings a round of stomping that goes on at least five minutes.

Right now, I can feel the plate lifting me up to the stage. Blinding lights. The deafening roar rattles the metal under my feet. Then there's Cato just a few yards away. He looks so handsome, as always. We made our way to the victor's chair. Usually, this is a single, ornate chair from which the winning tribute watches a film of the highlights of the games, but since there are two of us, the game makers have provided a plush red velvet couch.

Caesar Flickerman makes a few more jokes, and then it's time for the show. This will last exactly three hours and is required viewing for all of Panem. Two hours and a half have passed and I saw Cato and me, kissing passionately to our hearts' contents, making the audiences scream and cheer. So that's how I looked during that time. Half an hour has passed and the interview has begun, with Caesar asking us about our experiences in the games.

**The Train...**

I found myself in the train the next day, sitting on my bed in my room. Finally, I'm going home. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I stood up and made my way to open it. I opened it to find Cato, standing in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He made his way inside my room without even answering me. I closed the door and face him. "What are you doing here?" I asked him once again.

"I can show you better than I can tell you," he said as he stepped closer and closer to me.

When we got close enough, he placed his hands around my waist. I folded my arms and said, "What do you want Cato?" He just ignored me. I rolled my eyes. "If there's nothing left for you to say to me, why don't you just…" Before I get to say anything else, I found myself being kissed by him. I was shocked but I didn't push him away. Instead, I close my eyes and kiss him back, placing my hands around his neck. He's the first boy I've ever kissed and yet it feels so brilliant. I think it's because he's kissing me passionately and I'm kissing him back the same way. I don't know how long we kissed but a knock on my door tells us that it's time for us to stop.

We broke the kiss and heard Archie's voice outside the door. "It's lunchtime. I hope I'm not interrupting something." He laughed a little before we heard his footsteps walking away. I looked at Cato and was glad to see him smiling at me. I smiled back at him. We still haven't let go of each other.

"Let's go. You heard Archie. It's lunchtime," I said as I let go of him. I made my way to the door when he grabbed my hand and made me face him once again. "What?"

"I never knew you're such a good kisser," he said, still smiling at me.

"You're not so bad yourself," I said, smiling at him. After that, he kissed me one more time and I kissed him back. Another knock on my door really tells us that it's time for us to stop. We broke the kiss and sighed. "We'll be right there Archie." I said loudly and turned to Cato. "Come on."

"Oh, I hate to leave," he said, sighing.

"Let's go?" I asked him, smiling.

He nodded and we let go of each other.

I opened the door and walked outside with Cato following me. Archie must have gotten back to the dining room because he is nowhere to be found. I walked on with Cato catching up with me to walk by my side. And suddenly, I felt him filling the spaces between my fingers using his own and we made our way to the living room holding each other's hands. I know that this signifies something, something with regards to our relationship. It looks like we'll be more than friends starting today. Something both of us didn't really expect. Because falling for each other is something that we can't accept. Caring for each other is something that we can't understand. But love is something that we can't ignore. We didn't know what we feel for each other, but right now, we do, because even though we didn't know, _love knows_...

- The End -

**Watch out for the sequel entitled "Love Always Knows."**


End file.
